MARION  HARLMD'S  WORKS. 


1. — ALONE. 

2. — HIDDEN  PATH. 

8.— MOSS  SIDE. 

4. — NEMESIS. 

5. — MIRIAM. 

6. — THE  E1CTTY  HEART. 

7. — HELEN  GARDNER. 

8. — SUNNYBANK. 

9. — HUSBANDS  AND  HOMES. 
10. — RUBY'S  HUSBAND. 
11. — PHEMIE'S  TEMPTATION. 

12. — AT   LAST. 

13. — TRUE  AS  STEEL. 

14. — JESSAMINE. 

15. — PROM   MY  YOUTH  UP. 

16. — MY   LITTLE   LOVE.      (New.) 

"The  Novels  of  Marion  Harland  are  of   surpassing  ex 
cellence.    By  intrinsic  power  of  character-draw 
ing  and  descriptive  facility,  they  hold 
the  reader's  attention  with  the 
most  intense  interest 
and  fascination." 


All  published  uniform  with  this  volume.     Price  f  1.60 
each,  and  seat  free  by  mail,  on  receipt  of  price, 

BY 

G.  W.  CARLETON  On  CO., 
New  York. 


BY 

MARION    HARLAND, 


AUTHOR  or 


"ALONE,"    "HIDDEN    PATH,"     "NEMESIS,"     "MOSS    SIDE,"     "MIRIAM,"     "EMPTT 

HEART,"    "HELEN    GARDNER,"    "SUNXYBANK,"    "HUSBANDS    ANU    HOMES," 

"RUBY'S    HUSBAND,"     "PHEMIE'S    TEMPTATION,"     "AT    LAST," 

"TBDB    AS    STEEL,"    ETC. 


NEW    YORK: 

W    Carle  ton   &   Co.,    Publishers. 

LONDON:   S.   LOW,   SON   &   CO. 
M.DCCC.LXXVII. 


Itatered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1873,  ty 

M.   VIRGINIA  TEEHT7NE, 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington 


JOHN  F.  TROW  &  SON,  PRINTERS, 
305-213  EAST  I2TH  ST.,  NEW  YORK. 


At  Wisdom's  gate  Suspicion  sleeps, 
And  deems  no  Cl  where  no  ill  seems. 

MILTO*. 


' 

N. 


^r 


To 
MARGARET   J.    PRESTON. 


OP     LEXINGTON,      VIRGINIA, 


A.FFECTIONA  TEL  T     DEDICATED, 


NOT    ONLY    AS    A    TRIBUTE    TO    HER    PERSONAL,    WORTH    AND 

BUT  A3  ANOTHER  SEAIi  SET  UPON  THE  DEAR  AND  SAD  MEMORY 

WK  HOLD  IN  COMMON,   AND  WHICH  CANNOT  FAIL  O» 

RENEWAL    IN    WRITINS    OR    READINQ    OF 

"ROY     FORDHAM." 

MABION    HABLAND. 


CONTENTS. 


PAOB 

CHAPTER  1 11 

CHAPTER  II 24 

CHAPTER  III 37 

CHAPTER  IV ,  <  t 53 

CHAPTER  V t . » . , 64 

CHAPTER  VI ,     78 

CHAPTER  VII 92 

CHAPTER  VIII 108 

CHAPTER  IX 129 

CHAPTER  X 145 

CHAPTER  XI 160 

CHAPTER  XII 170 

CHAPTER  XIII 185 

CHAPTER  XIV 202 

CHAPTER  XV 217 

CHAPTER  XVI 228 

CHAPTER  XVII 241 

CHAPTER  XVIII 254 

CHAPTER  XIX 270 

1* 


x  OONTENIB. 

,  PAO3 

CHAPTER  XX 283 

CHAPTER  XXI 299 

CHAPTER  XXIL 31 G 

CHAPTER  XXIII 325 

CHAPTER  XXIV 336 

CHAPTER  XXV 349 

CHAPTER  XXVI 364 

CHAPTER  XXVH  .  .375 


JESSAMINE. 


CHAPTER   I. 

YOUNG  girl  lay  upon  a  lounge  in  the  recess  of 
an  oriel-window.  If  disease  held  her  there,  it 
had  not  altered  the  contour  of  the  smooth  cheek, 
or  made  shallow  the  dimples  in  wrist  and  elbow 
of  the  arm  supporting  her  head  ;  had  not  unbent 
the  spirited  bow  of  the  mouth,  or  dimmed  the  glad  light 
of  the  gray  eyes.  Most  people  called  these  black,  de 
ceived  by  the  shadow  of  the  jetty  lash-as.  They  were 
wide  open,  now,  and  the  light  of  a  sunny  mid-day  streamed 
in  upon  her  face  through  the  window,  yet  the  upper  part 
of  the  iiid  was  darkened  b^7  the  heavy  fringe  that  matched 
in  line  the  well-defined  brows.  Her  hair,  also  black, 
with  purple  reflections  glancing  from  every  coil  and 
fold,  was  braided  into  a  coronal,  and  about  the  heavy 
plait  knotted  at  the  back  of  the  head  was  twisted  a  half- 


12  JESSAMINE. 

wreath  of  yellow  jessamine.  Her  skin  was  dark  and  clear, 
but  she  had  usually  little  color ;  her  forehead  was  not  re 
markable  for  breadth  or  height ;  the  nose  was  a  nonde 
script,  and  the  mouth  rather  piquant  than  pretty,  with 
suffffestious  of  wilfulness  in  the  full,  lower  lip,  and  the 

OO  '  _A.JL    ' 

Blight,  downward  lines  at  the  corners.  Her  dress  was 
white  muslin,  with  no  ornament  beyond  the  gold  clasp 
of  her  girdle,  and  a  spray  of  jessamine  at  her  throat. 

The  casement  was  canopied  with  the  vine  from  which 
this  last  had  been  plucked.  Hundreds  of  bright  bells 
were  swinging  lazily  in  the  warm  breeze,  and  were  tossed 
into  livelier  motion  and  perfume  by  the  kisses  of  brown- 
coated  bees  and  vivid  humming-birds.  Heightening  the 
glow  of  the  tropical  creeper,  while  they  relieved  the  eye 
of  the  spectator,  drooped  still,  lilac  clusters  of  wisteria, 
and  these  the  girl  put  aside  witli  impatient  fingers  when 
she  raised  herself  upon  her  elbow  to  obtain  a  better  view 
of  the  outer  scene.  A  flower-garden,  lively  with  Spring 
blossoms,  opened  through  a  wicket  in  the  white  fence 
into  a  church-yard — green  and  level  on  the  roadside — 
green  likewise,  but  swelling  into  long  ranks  of  unequal 
and  motionless  billows  behind  the  building.  This  was 
an  ancient  structure,  as  was  shown  by  the  latticed  win 
dows  with  rounded  tops,  and  the  quaint  base  of  the 
steeple  that  yet  tapered  gracefully  into  a  shimmering 
point  against  the  pale  noon  of  the  sky.  But  loving  eyes 
had  watched  it,  and  reverent  hands  guarded  it  against 
decay.  The  brick  walls  were  sound,  the  masonry  of 
gray  stone  about  windows  and  doors  smooth  and  solid 
with  cement  made  hard  as  the  stone  by  years  and 
weather.  The  sward  was  shaven  evenly,  and  the  two 
great  elms  at  the  entrance  to  the  rural  sanctuary  were 


JESSAMINE.  13 

the  pride  of  the  region.  A  double  row  of  these  trees 
bordered  the  road  for  a  hundred  yards  in  either  direc 
tion,  and  now  offered  shade  and  coolness  to  an  orderly 
herd  of  horses  tethered  beneath  them.  A  few  handsome 
equipages  were  there,  two  or  three  stately  family  car 
riages  and  several  jaunty  buggies,  but  most  of  the  ve 
hicles  to  which  the  animals  were  attached,  bore  the  stamp 
of  rusticity,  hard  usage,  and  infrequent  ablutions,  while 
the  preponderance  of  roadsters  and  ponderous  draught- 
horses  over  blooded  stock,  betokened  that  in  this,  as  in 
other  agricultural  districts,  the  beautiful  was  held  in  sub 
ordination  to  the  useful.  The  little  church,  thanks  to  the 
taste  of  the  present  pastor  and  the  economical  proclivi 
ties  of  past  generations,  had  escaped  the  vulgarizing  in 
fluence  of  "a  good  coat  of  paint."  Slow  circles  of 
lichens,  hoary  and  russet,  had  toned  down  the  original 
ruddiness  of  the  bricks,  and  green  mosses  dotted  the 
slated  roof.  It  stood  on  the  edge  of  a  cup-like  valley, 
surrounded  by  mountains.  So  near  was  the  lofty  chain 
on  the  north-east,  that  the  rising  sun  sent  the  shadow 
of  the  Anak  of  the  rariire — "  Old  Wind  beam,"  across  the 

V 

graveyard  to  the  foot  of  the  sacred  walls ;  so  remote  on 
the  west  that  the  Day-god  looked  his  last  upon  the  fertile 
pastures,  winding  streams,  and  peaceful  homesteads,  over 
hills  round  and  blue  with  distance. 

The  watcher  in  the  oriel-window  saw  neither  flowers 
nor  elms ;  noticed  the  throng  of  patient  dumb  horses 
and  motley  collection  of  carriages  as  little  as  she  dicTOie 
mountains,  near  and  far.  Every  feature  was  stirred  with 
exultant  wistfulness,  and  her  eyes  never  moved  from  a 
certain  window  of  the  church  from  which  the  inner 

shutters  had  been  folded  back.     The  house  was  densely 

ci 


14  JESSAMINE. 

packed  with  living  beings — she  could  see  through  this — 
galleries  and  aisles,  as  well  as  pews,  and  dimly,  in  the 
dusky  interior,  she  discerned  an  upright  and  animated 
figure — the  orator  of  the  occasion.  Into  the  heat  and 
hush  of  high  noon — heat  fragrant  with  waves  of  odor 
from  resinous  woods,  and  clover-fields,  and  garden-border? 
— a  hush  to  which  the  tinkling  bells  of  browsing  kine  in 
the  meadows,  and  the  hum  of  bird  and  bee  close  by, 
brought  a  deeper  lull  instead  of  interruption — flowed  a 
voice  sonorous  and  sweet ;  now  calm  in  argument  or 
narrative — now,  breaking  into  short,  abrupt  bursts  of  im 
passioned  declamation  ;  anon,  rising  with  earnest,  majes 
tic  measures,  most  musical  of  all,  that  brought  words 
with  the  varied  inflections,  to  the  rapt  listener.  Smiles 
and  tears  came  to  her  with  the  hearing ;  light  that  was 
glory  to  the  eyes  ;  softness  that  was  tenderness,  not  sor 
row,  to  the  sensitive  mouth. 

"When  the  speaker's  tones  were  drowned  by  the  storm 
of  applause  that  shook  the  church,  and  the  mass  of  human 
heads  swayed  to  and  fro  as  did  the  cedars  in  Old  Wind- 
beam's  crown  on  gusty  Winter  nights,  the  girl  fell  back 
upon  her  cushions  and  fairly  sobbed  with  excitement. 

"  My  hero  !  my  king  !  " 

A  slight  bustle  in  the  hall  distracted  her  attention,  and 
warned  her  of  the  necessity  of  self-control.  A  man's 
voice  questioned,  and  a  woman's — provincial  and  drawl 
ing — replied,  and  steps  approached  the  parlor. 

"  Here's  a  gentleman  wants  Mr.  Fordham,  Miss  Jes 
sie,"  said  an  ungainly  country  girl,  opening  the  door. 

A  tall  figure  bowed  upon  the  threshold. 

"  I  am  an  intruder,  I  fear,"  he  said,  taking  in  at  once 
the  facts  of  the  young  lady's  inability  to  rise  from  her 


JESSAMINE.  15 

<fa,  and  the  confusion  that  burned  in  her  dark  cheek  at 
10  unexpected  apparition.  "  But  they  told  me  at  tho 
otel  below  that  I  should  find  Mr.  Fordham  here.  He  is 
y  cousin." 

The  glow  remained  in  all  its  brightness,  but  it  was 
ainf  til  no  longer,  as  she  held  out  her  hand. 

"  Then  you  are  Mr.  Wyllys  ? "  smiling  cordially. 
You  are  very  welcome." 

She  waved  him  to  a  chair  near  her  lounge  with  an  air 

o 

f  proud,  but  unconscious,  grace,  that  did  not  escape  the 
isitor. 

"  I  am  sorry  you  did  not  arrive  in  season  to  participate 
i  the  celebration  of  our  Centennial.  You  know,  I  sup- 
ose,  that  Mr.  Fordham  is  the  orator  of  the  day  ?  " 

Warily  observant,  with  eyes  that  habitually  looked 
areless,  and  were  never  off  guard,  Mr.  Wyllys  remarked 
lie  smile  and  glance  through  the  window  at  the  church, 
vhich  accompanied  this  bit  of  information,  but  his  reply 
vinced  no  knowledge  of  aught  beyond  what  was  conveyed 
>y  her  words. 

"  I  should  be  ashamed  to  confess  it,  but  I  was  not 
ware  until  this  moment  that  any  public  celebration  was 
ng  on,  unless  it  were  a  religious  service  in  the  church 
— a  saint's  day  or  other  solemn  festival.  Is  this,  then,  the 
inniversary  of  a  notable  event  in  the  history  of  your 
ovely  valley?" 

There  was  a  tincture  of  commiseration  for  his  ignorance 
ningled  with  her  surprise  at  the  question  that  must  have 
li verted  the  stranger  if  his  sense  of  humor  was  keen.  Her 

o 

answer  was  grave  as  befitted  the  importance  of  the  subject. 
"  The  founder  of  this  colony  among  the  hills  was  a 
direct  descendant  of  the  Scotch  Covenanters— one  David 


1C  JESSAMINE. 

Dundee,  from  whom  the  settlement  took  its  name.  II  { ' 
emigrated  with  a  large  family  of  sturdy  boys  and  girls  {' 
and  his  report  of  the  rich  lands  and  genial  climate  of  hi  j 
new  home  drew  after  him  many  others — all  from  hi  I 
native  land — most  of  them  his  former  friends  and  neigh  I 
bors.  They  cleared  away  forests,  built  houses,  dug,  an'^4 
ploughed,  and  reaped,  and  worshipped  GOD  after  thtf 
fashion  of  their  fathers,  having,  within  fifteen  years  afteil 
David  Dundee's  establishment  of  himself  and  household  jj 
here,  erected  the  substantial  church  yon  see  over  there,  | 
At  the  time  of  the  breaking  out  of  the  French  and  Indian! 
war,  there  was  not  a  more  prosperous  and  happy  commn-i 
nity  in  the  State.  In  response  to  the  call  to  arms,  the* 
bravest  and  best  of  the  young  and  middle-aged  men* 
formed  themselves  into  a  company  and  marched  away  to> 
fight  as  zealously  and  conscientiously  as  they  had  felled  I 
the  woods  and  tilled  the  ground.  A  mere  handful — and; 
most  of  these  infirm  from  age  and  disease — remained 
with  the  women  and  children,  upon  whom  devolved  much; 
and  heavy  labor  if  they  would  retain  plenty  and  comfort' 
in  their  homes.  They  were  literally  hewers  of  wood  andf 
drawers  of  water  ;  they  sowed  the  fields  and  gardens,  and 
gathered  in  the  crops  with  their  own  hands — these  heroic- 
great-grandmothers  of  ours! — herded  their  cattle  and  re 
paired  their  houses,  besides  performing  the  ordinary  tasks 
of  housewives.  And — one  and  all — they  learned  and' 
practised  the  nse  of  fire-arms,  kept  muskets  beside  cradles 
and  kneading-trjughs,  and  when  they  met  for  worship  on 
Sabbath,  mothers  carried  their  babies  on  the  left  arm,  a 
gun  upon  the  right.  One  day,  late  in  April — perhaps  as 
fair  and  sweet  a  day  as  this — news  came  to  this  secluded 
liamlet  that  a  large  body  of  '  the  enemy' — chiefly  Indi 


JESSAMINE.  17 

&ns  and  half-breeds — was  approaching.  Providentially, 
old  David  Dundee  was  at  home  on  a  furlough  of  three 
da}rs — he  asked  no  more — that  he  might  rally  somewhat 
after  the  amputation  of  his  left  arm  in  hospital.  He  had 
the  church  bell  rung  (it  was  a  present  from  a  Scottish 
lord,  and  it  hangs  still  in  the  steeple),  and  after  a  brief 
consultation  upon  the  green  in  front  of  the  '  kirk,'  with 
the  wisest  of  his  neighbors — a  council  of  war  from  which 
women  were  not  excluded — he  collected  the  entire  popu 
lation  into  the  church,  first  allowing  them  one  hour  in 
which  to  bury  or  otherwise  secrete  their  valuables.  The 
feebler  women  and  the  children  were  sent,  for  safety,  into 
the  cellar,  which  extends  under  the  whole  building  ;  the 
lower  parts  of  the  windows  were  barricaded  with  feather- 
beds  and  mattresses,  with  loop-holes  through  which  guna 
could  be  thrust,  and  these  stout-hearted  matrons  and 
young  girls  volunteered  to  defend.  The  men  were  mus 
tered  in  the  galleries.  A  sentinel  from  the  bell-tower 
soon  gave  warning  that  the  foe  was  in  sight.  From  their 
loop-holes  the  colonists  saw  their  houses  and  barns  fired, 
their  horses  and  other  stock  maimed  and  butchered,  gar 
dens,  fields,  and  orchards  wantonly  laid  waste ;  but  not 
a  woman  wept  or  a  man  swore  or  groaned  in  the  crowded 
church.  On  they  came,  flushed  with  success,  ravening 
for  human  blood.  David  Dundee  spoke  twice  before  the 
uproar  without  made  hearing,  even  of  his  stentorian 
voice,  impossible.  '  Haud  your  fire  'till  ye  hear  me  gie 
the  word  I '  he  said,  when  his  small  army  looked  to  him 
for  orders,  as  savages  and  half-breeds  rushed  forward  to 
surround  the  building  A  minute  later — '  The  Lord  have 
maircy  upon  their  souls,  for  we'll  hae  nane  upon  theii 
bodies !  Fire  !  ' 


13  JESSAMINE. 

"  The  fifjlit  was  a  fierce  one,  arid  lasted  until  nightfall." 

D  '  O 

" '  Then,'  says  the  chronicler  of  the  story — '  seeing  that 
the  enemy  had  withdrawn  a  little  space,  we  thanked  the 
GOD  of  battles,  and  took  some  refreshment;  then  set 
about  caring  for  our  wounded  and  preparing  for  the 
renewed  attack  we  believed  the  savages  were  about  to 
make.  Finding  the  hurt  of  our  leader,  David  Dundee, 
to  be  mortal,  and  that  our  ammunition  was  well-nigh 
exhausted,  and  being,  in  consequence,  sore  distraught 
in  spirit,  we  gave  ourselves  anew  to  prayer — then,  stood 
to  our  arms  !  ' 

"  Wasn't  that  grand !  "  the  girl  interrupted  herself  to 
say — her  wide  eyes  all  a-light  with  fire  and  dew. 

"  Glorious !  One  likes  to  remember  that  upon  such  a 
foundation  as  your  Dundee  and  his  followers  our  He- 
public  was  built,"  assented  the  listener.  "  And,  then  ? " 

"And,  then," — taking  np  the  words  with  singleness 
of  interpretation  and  a  grave  simplicity  that  nearly  pro 
voked  the  auditor  to  a  smile — "  the  darkness  closed  down 
and  hid  the  foe  from  their  sio;ht.  With  the  dawn  came 

Cj 

a  glad  surprise.  The  invaders  had  retreated,  bearing 
their  dead  and  wounded  with  them.  The  garrison  had 
lost  but  twenty  in  all — five  of  them  being  women. 
They  were  buried  in  the  graveyard  over  there — with 
the  exception  of  the  rugged  old  chieftain,  who  was 
interred  directly  under  the  pulpit.  All  this  happened 
a  hundred  years  ago.  When  Mr.  Fordham  was  here, 
last  summer,  the  committee  having  the  centennial  an 
niversary  in  charge,  requested  him  to  deliver  the  oration." 
"I  am  somewhat  surprised  that  he  has  never  mentioned 
this  new  distinction  to  me,  although  I  knew  his  modesty 
to  be  equal  to  his  ability,"  said  the  visitor. 


JESSAMINE.  13 

The  black  brows  were  knit  and  the  lip  curled. 

"It  is  'no  distinction'  to  him  to  deliver  an  historical 
address  to  a  crowd  of  yeomen,  you  may  think — and 
rightly !  His  consent  to  do  this  is  a  proof  of  his  kind 
ness  of  heart  and  willingness  to  oblige  his  friends.  I 
understand  as  well  as  you  do,  that  our  pride  in  the  one 
event  that  has  made  our  valley  memorable  in  the  history 
of  our  country,  may  seem  overstrained  to  absurdity  in 
the  eyes  of  others.  But  there  are  some  in  Mr.  Fordham'a 
audience  who  appreciate  his  talents,  and  all  admire. 
Listen !  "  her  forehead  smoothing  as  the  applause  broke 
forth  again. 

Mr.  Wyllys  was  too  well-bred  to  recall  to  her  mind 
what  she  should  have  learned  from  his  frank  avowal 
of  ignorance  of  her  cherished  tradition, — namely — that 
the  "  one  event "  had  been,  in  that  hurrying  modern 
age,  forgotten  by  the  world  outside  the  noble  amphi 
theatre  of  hills.  The  country  girl  had  told  the  story 
well ;  her  face  had  been  an  engaging  study  while  she 
talked,  and  there  was  novel  refreshment  in  her  naive 
belief  that  the  tale  must  interest  him  as  much  as  it  did 
herself.  Otherwise,  he  might  have  found  the  recital  a 
bore. 

"You  misunderstood  me  if  you  imagined  that  I  in 
tended  to  sneer — did  me  an  injustice  you  will  not  repeat 
when  you  are  better  acquainted  with  me.  The  highest 
honor  that  can  be  awarded  the  American  citizen  is  the 
opportunity  to  serve  the  people.  And  my  cousin — any 
man — might  well  be  proud  of  the  compliment  conveyed 
in  the  invitation  to  be  speaker  on  an  occasion  like  this. 
The  theme  should  be,  of  itself,  inspiration.  I  am  dis 
posed  to  quarrel  with  him  for  excluding  me  from  tho 


20  JESSAMINE. 

number  of  his  hearers.  His  reserve  on  the  subject  of 
the  appreciation  that  meets  his  worth  and  talents  every 
where  is  sometimes  trying  to  the  temper  of  those  who 
know  how  to  value  these,  and  the  reputation  they  have 
won  for  him." 

"  He  is  singularly  modest.  But  that  is  a  characteristic 
of  true  merit,"  said  the  young  lady,  laconically.  "  You 
came  down  from  Hamilton  to-day  ? " 

"  I  did ! "  with  a  slight  shrug  of  the  shoulder  and  a 
comic  lifting  of  the  eyebrows.  "  Actually  arising  at  four 
o'clock  to  take  the  train.  I  saw  the  sun  rise,  for  the  first 
time  in  twenty  years.  Tour  home  is  very  beautiful,  Miss 
Kirke." 

"  We  think  so.  I  ought  to,  for  I  was  born  here  and 
have  known  no  other.  But  I  am  not  Miss  Kirke — only 
Miss  Jessie.  My  elder  sister  is  in  the  church.  When 
she  comes  home,  she  will  play  the  hostess  better  than  I 
do." 

"  Excuse  me  for  saying  that  you  are  scarcely  a  compe 
tent  judge  on  that  point." 

She  met  the  gallantry  with  the  half -petulant  expression 
and  gesture  that  had  answered  his  allusion  to  his  cousin's 
"  new  distinction." 

"  I  did  not  say  that  to  provoke  flattery.  Apart  from 
the  truth  that  my  sister  is  my  superior  in  nearly  every 
thing  that  goes  to  make  up  the  dignified  lady,  she  is,  just 
now,  in  better  physical  trim  than  I  can  boast.  I  sprained 
my  foot  a  week  ago,"  smiling,  and  blushing  so  brightly 
as  to  arouse  the  spectator's  curiosity — "  and  I  am  for 
bidden  to  use  it,  as  yet." 

She  turned  her  face  to  the  window  as  the  crash  of 
a  brass  band  proclaimed  that  the  oration  was  at  an 


JESSAMINE.  21 

end.  While  she  beat  time  on  the  sill  to  the  patriotic 
strains  the  visitor  inspected  the  room  and  its  appoint 
ments. 

It  was  a  square  parlor,  low-browed  and  spacious,  and 
wainscoated  with  oak.  Venerable  portraits  adorned  the 
walls,  and  the  furniture  belonged  to  the  era  when  ma 
hogany  was  plentiful  and  upholstery  expensive,  if  one 
might  judge  from  the  disproportion  in  the  quantity  of 
polished  wood  and  that  of  cushions.  A  modern  piano 
was  there,  however,  and  the  carpet  was  new  and  hand 
some.  The  lounge  on  which  Jessie  lay  was  evidently  the 
workmanship  of  a  neighborhood  carpenter,  but  was  far 
more  comfortable  than  the  stately  sofas  at  opposite  ends 
of  the  apartment,  being  broad  and  deeply  cushioned,  and 
covered  with  a  pretty  chintz  pattern.  An  old  china 
bowl,  full  of  pond-lilies,  wa8  upon  the  centre-table ;  tall 
vases  of  the  same  material  and  antique  style  stood  on  the 
mantel,  and  a  precious  cabinet  of  carved  wood — Mr. 
Wyllys  wondered  if  the  owners  knew  how  precious — was 
in  a  far  corner.  The  most  conspicuous  ornament  of  the 
room  was  a  large  picture  that  hung  over  the  mantel.  It 
was  a  portrait  of  the  second  daughter  of  the  house,  taken 
several  years  before,  for  it  represented  a  girl  of  sixteen, 
kneeling  beside  a  forest  spring.  She  had  just  filled  a 
leaf-cup  with  water,  and,  in  the  act  of  raising  it  to  her 
lips,  glanced  at  the  spectator  with  a  smile  of  saucy 
triumph, — a  face  so  radiant  with  roguish  glee  as  to  win 
the  gravest  to  an  answering  gleam.  The  likeness  waa 
striking  still,  and  the  painting  excellent.  The  figure  was 
spirited,  the  attitude  one  of  negligent  grace,  and  the 
accessories  to  the  principal  object  were  well  brought  in. 
A  vista  in  the  woods  revealed  the  craggy  front  of  Wind- 


22  JESSAMINE. 

beam,  and  about  the  old  beech,  shading  the  spring,  clung 
a  jessamine  in  full  flower. 

Mr.  "Wyllys  got  up  to  take  a  nearer  view  of  the  picture, 
and  Jessie  looked  around. 

"  That  is  one  of  my  father's  treasures,"  she  said,  with 
out  a  tinge  of  embarrassment  or  affectation  at  seeing 
him  intent  upon  the  scrutiny  of  her  portrait.  "  It  was 

painted  by  H "  pronouncing  a  celebrated  name. 

"  He  spent  a  summer  in  this  neighborhood,  four  year? 
since.  He  was  with  us  on  a  picnic  to  the  wishing-well — • 
every  county  has  a  wishing-well,  hasn't  it? — and  there 
made  the  first  sketch  of  that  picture." 

"  A  neat  way  of  informing  me  that  he  was  struck  with 
her  attitude  and  face,  and  asked  the  favor  of  reproduc 
ing  them  upon  canvas  !  "  reflected  the  guest. 

"  It  is  a  masterpiece ! "  he  said  aloud. 

He  marvelled,  inwardly,  at  the  paternal  devotion  or  ex 
travagance  that  had  tempted  the  master  of  the  unpretend 
ing  manse  to  make  himself  the  owner  of  what  he  knew 
must  be  a  costly  work  of  art. 

Jessie  answered  as  if  he  had  spoken. 

"  Mr.  II gave  it  to  my  father,  who  had  been  atten 
tive  to  him  during  a  severe  illness." 

She  scanned  the  new-comer  narrowly  while  his  regards 
were  engaged  by  the  painting,  never  dreaming  that  he 
was  quite  conscious  of  the  scrutiny,  and  prolonged  his 
examination  purposely  that  she  might  have  time  and  op 
portunity  for  hers.  lie  stood  flre  bravely,  for  his  mien 
of  easy  composure  did  not  vary  by  so  much  as  the  nervous 
twitch  of  a  muscle  ;  his  attitude  was  one  of  serious  atten 
tion  ;  his  eyes  did  not  leave  the  picture. 

A  tall,  lithe  figure,  with  a  willowy  bend  of  the  should- 


JESSAMINE.  23 

ers,  slight,  but  perceptible,  especially  when  he  spoke,  or 
listened  to  her ;  fair,  almost  sandy  hair ;  bine  eyes ;  a 
pale,  and  by  no  means  handsome  face,  inasmuch  as  the 
forehead  was  narrow,  the  cheeks  thin,  the  mouth  large, 
and  the  luxuriant  beard  had  a  reddish  tendency  in  the 
nustache,  and  where  it  neared  the  under  lip, — each  of  these 
articulars  and  the  tout  ensemble  awoke  in  Jessie's  mind 
isappointment,  which  found  vent  in  a  little  sigh  and  a 
roop  of  the  corners  of  the  mouth  as  she  withdrew  her  eyes. 
Then,  silence  abode  between  them  for  awhile.  The 
nisic  of  the  band  had  ceased,  and  whatever  were  the  con- 
luding  exercises  of  the  celebration  in  the  church,  they 
rere  inaudible  in  the  great  parlor,  where  cool  shadows 
ept  in  the  corners,  and  the  scent  of  pond-lilies  and 
issamine  steeped  the  air  into  languorous  stillness.  It 
•ould  have  seemed  like  a  dream  to  a  romantic  or  imagi- 
atlve  man,  and  the  glory  of  the  place  and  hour  been  the 
gure  among  the  pillows  on  the  couch,  her  dark  cheeks 
tained  red  as  with  rich  wine ;  the  sultry  yellow  of  the  blos- 
>ms  in  her  hair  and  upon  her  bosom  making  more  black 
er  wealth  of  hair,  more  clear  her  olive  skin,  the  while, 
orgetful  that  she  was  not  alone,  she  watched  with  parted 
ps  and  eager,  love-full  eyes,  for  the  coming  of  her  lord. 
We  shall  have  abundant  proof,  hereafter,  that  Mr. 
fyllys  was  the  reverse  of  romantic,  and  that  his  imagi- 
ation  never  misled  his  judgment,  but  aesthetics  was  a 
ivorite  study  with  him,  and  his  taste  being  good,  he  de- 
ided  within  his  calm  and  patronizing  self  that  the  hour 
)ent  in  the  "  best  room  "  of  the  Dundee  parsonage  was 
ot  utterly  wasted. 

lie  had  had  a  study  in  color — and  of  more  kinds  than 
lat  which  met  the  eye — if  nothing  else. 


CHAPTER  II. 

"ERE  they  are!" 

The  low  exclamation,  fraught  with  delight  ancll 
ill-suppressed  impatience — genuine  and  artless  as  a 
child's — drew  Mr.  Wyllys  to  join  Jessie's  lookout 
at  the  window. 
The  road  and  church-yard  were  full  of  the  retiring! 
crowd,  and  a  group  of  three  persons  was  at  the  wicket- 
gate.  A  white-haired  man,  of  dignified  and  benign  pres 
ence,  bowed  somewhat  under  the  weight  of  his  three 
score  years  and  ten,  walked  with  his  arm  about  thi 
shoulders  of  one  youthful  and  erect,  who  retarded  his  gai^l 
to  suit  the  measured  tread  of  his  companion. 

"  Stand  back !  don't  let  him  see  you  until  he  comef( 
in  !  "  ordered  Jessie ;  and  Mr.  "Wyllys  retreated  without 
having  made  other  observation  of  the  lady  at  Mr.  KirkeB 
Bide,  save  that  she  was  of  medium  height  and  neatly  < 
dressed. 

Mr.  Fordham's  face   brightened  with    pleasure    and 


JESSAMINE.  25 

amazement  at  sight  of  the  figure  standing  at  the  head  of 
Jessie's  sofa. 

"•  Orrin  !  you  here  ?  " 

"  In  body  and  in  spirit,  Roy  !  " 

Jovsie's  eyes  were  busy,  as  their  hands  lingered  in  tho 
hourly  clasp  of  greeting. 

"  What  a  contrast !  "  she  thought,  'twixt  pity  for  the  one 
land  exultation  in  the  other. 

The  epithet  most  aptly  descriptive  of  Roy  Fordluim's 
[features  and  bearing  was  "manly."  The  broad  brow; 
the  hazel  eyes,  rather  deeply  set,  that  looked  straight 
I  in  to  those  of  the  person  with  whom  he  talked;  the 
resolute  month  and  square  chin  ;  his  upright  carriage, 
stalwart  frame,  and  firm  step — all  deserved  it.  His  height 
did  not  equal  that  of  his  cousin,  but  he  seemed  taller  un- 
,til  they  stood  side  by  side.  Without  relinquishing  the 
visitor's  hand,  he  turned,  with  serious  courtesy  that  be 
came  him.  well,  to  the  lady  who  had  entered  with  him. 

"  Miss  Kirke,  allow  me  to  present  my  friend  and  rela 
tive,  Mr.  Wyllys ! " 

It  w-is  a  formally  worded  introduction,  for  Miss  Kirke 
was  punctilious  in  these  matters.  She  bent  her  head 
graciously,  but  with  no  effusive  cordiality  such  as  had 
gushed  forth  in  her  sister's  welcome  to  one  with  whose 
name  she  was  pleasantly  familiar. 

"We  are  happy  to  see  any  friend  of  Mr.  Ford- 
ham  in  our  home,"  she  said  in  a  clear  monotone  that  ac 
corded  perfectly  with  her  calm  face  and  reposeful  de 
meanor.  "  My  father,  Mr.  Wyllys  !  " 

The  back  of  the  latter  was  to  the  lounge  when  Miss 

o 

Kirke  had  committed  him  to  the  host's  care,  and  betaken 
herself  to  some  other  part  of  the  house;  but  he  knew  that 


26  JESSAMINE. 

Roy  was  bending  over  his  betrothed,  smiling  tender  re-i 
proach  into  eyes  that  filled  with  happy,  foolish  tears  at 
his  query — "  Have  you  been  very  lonely  ?  " 

"  Not  at  all !  I  have  enjoyed  the  morning  intensely. 
I  could  see  into  the  church  very  plainly,  and  hear  much 
that  was  said.  It  was  almost  as  good  as  going  myself." 

"  I  told  you  you  would  be  reconciled  to  the  disappoint 
ment  by  noon." 

"  But  not  in  the  way  you  meant !  " 

The  wilful  ring  was  in  the  voice,  loving  as  it  was. 

O  '  O 

Mr.  TVyllys'  visage  was  a  model  of  bland  deference, 
and  his  answers  to  Mr.  Kirke's  remarks  pertinent,  the 
while  he  was  reflecting, — "You  are  likely  to  have  lively 
work  on  yonr  hands,  my  good  cousin,  with  your  Kate.  I 
should  hardly  have  cast  the  part  of  Petruchio  for  you, 
either." 

"I  think  I  wTill  have  mine  brought  to  me  here,  to 
day  ! "  he  heard  Jessie  say,  softly,  when  dinner  was  an 
nounced. 

Hoy's  reply  was  to  lift  her  in  his  arms  and  carry  her 
across  the  hall  to  the  dining-room,  where  one  side  of  the 
table  was  taken  up  by  a  settee  heaped  with  cushions. 
She  pouted  and  laughed  as  he  laid  her  down  among 
these. 

"  I  believe  you  imagine  that  I  am  losing  moral  volition 
as  well  as  bodily  strength !  I  have  taken  my  meals  in 
this  d  la  fairy  princess  style  for  seven  days,"  she  added, 
to  Mr.  Wyllys,  when  they  were  all  seated — "  have  per 
sonated  Cleopatra  and  Mrs.  Skewton  to  my  own  content 
and  my  friends'  amusement.  I  find  it  so  comfortable 
that  I  shall  regret  the  recovery  which  will  doom  me  to 
straight-backed  chairs,  drawn  np  in  line  (f  battle  against 


JESSAMINE.  27 

the  table.  If  you  want  to  know  the  fulness  and  delight  of 
the  term,  dolce  far  niente,  practise  clumsy  climbing 
among  our  steep  hills,  and  the  fates  may  send  you  a 
sprained  ankle — a  not  intolerable  prelude  to  a  month  of 
such  luxurious  indolence  and  infinitude  of  spoiling  as  I 
am  now  enjoying." 

"  The  indolence  and  the  petting  might  be  less  to  hia 
taste  than  they  are  to  yours,"  replied  her  father,  indulg 
ently. 

"  Don't  you  believe  it !  "  said  Jessie,  with  a  saucy  flash 
of  her  great  eyes  across  the  table  at  the  guest.  "  I  have 
a  notion  that  both  would  be  altogether  to  his  liking. 

"  O 

Unless  I  am  mistaken,  he  has  had  Benjamin's  share  of 
these  luxuries  already." 

"  You  have  been  telling  tales  out  of  school,  Roy ! " 
said  his  cousin,  threateningly,  as  Mr.  Fordham  laughed. 

Jessie  anticipated  the  reply. 

"You  are  wrong—and  the  accusation  is  unflattering  to 
my  perceptive  powers.  You  betray  your  ease-loving  pro 
pensities  in  every  motion  and  accent.  Don't  frown  at 
me,  Euna !  I  am  complimenting  him,  although  he  may 
not  suspect  it.  Indolence — not  laziness,  mind !  but  the 
graceful  laisser-faire  which  sometimes  approximates  the 
sublime — is  the  least  appreciated  of  the  social  arts." 

Mr.  Wyllys  answered  by  a  quotation : 

"  '  Surely,  surely,  slumber  is  more  sweet  than  toil — the  shore 
Than  labor  in  the  deep  mid-ocean.'  " 

"  The  gospel  of  ease,  of  which  Tennyson  is  the  apos 
tle  ! "  said  Roy.  "  Sleep  is  never  sweeter  than  when  it 
comes  to  the  laboring  man,  nor  is  the  shore  so  welcome 


28  JESSAMINE. 

to  him  who  never  leaves  it,  as  it  is  to  the  mariner  who 
has  gained  it  by  toiling  through  the  deep  mid-ocean." 

Jessie  made  a  dissenting  gesture. 

"  Lejeu — vaut-il  la  cliandelle  ?  " 

"Yes — if  rest  and  ease  be  the  chief  goods  of  life," 
was  the  rejoinder. 

It  was  made  gently  and  affectionately,  but  Jessie  ap 
pealed  to  Mr.  Wyllys,  in  whimsical  vexation. 

"Wouldn't  anybody  know  that  lie  is  a  college  pro 
fessor  ?  lie  is  a  merciless  logician,  and  logic  was  always 
a  bore  to  me.  I  don't  know  the  difference  between  a 
syllogism  and  a  sequence.  Poor  Euna !  what  a  fearful 
trial  she  had  in  her  pupil ! " 

"  You  use  the  past  tense,  I  observe ! "  Mr.  Wyllys  re 
marked,  demurely. 

Everybody  was  tempted  to  badinage  in  talking  with 
her. 

"  Because  my  days  of  nominal  pupilage  are  over.  The 
trial  remains  in  full  force." 

"  You  may  say  that,  my  dear"  Mr.  Kirke  laid  a 
caressing  hand  upon  her  head.  "  Your  sister  and  I  would 
hear  the  slander  from  no  one  else." 

Miss  Kirke  said  nothing, — only  smiled  in  a  slow,  bright 
way,  peculiarly  her  own.  While  Jessie  could  not  speak 
without  action,  the  blood  leaping  to  cheek  and  lip  as  did 
the  tire  to  her  eye  and  ready  retort  to  her  tongue,  her 
sister  sat,  serene  and  fair,  observant  of  every  want  of 
those  about  her,  graceful  in  hospitality,  hurried  in  noth 
ing,  careful  in  all  she  said  and  did.  She  must  have  been 
twent}T-five  years  old,  Wyllys  decided,  but  she  would  look 
as  young  at  forty,  after  the  manner  of  these  calm-pulsed 
blondes.  The  soft  brown  hair  was  put  plainly  back  from 


JESSAMINE.  29 

her  temples;  her  features  were  likelier  father's,  Greek 
in  outline,  but  more  delicately  chiselled ;  her  eyes  were 
placid  mirrors — not  changeful  depths.  Her  dress  was  a 
dun  tissue  that  yet  looked  cooler  than  Jessie's  muslin,  and 
her  lace  collar  was  underlaid  and  tied  in  front  with  blue 
ribbon.  Mr.  Wyllys  had  an  eye — and  a  critically  correct 
one—  for  feminine  attire,  down  to  the  minutest  details, 
and  he  approved  of  hers  as  befitting  her  age,  position,  and 
Btyle. 

lie  noted,  moreover,  with  surprise  and  approval,  that 
there  was  not  a  touch  of  rusticity  in  the  appointments  of 
the  table  and  the  bill  of  fare.  Old-fashioned  silver,  mas 
sive  and  shining  ;  china  that  nearly  equalled  it  in  value, 
and  cut-glass  of  the  same  date,  were  set  out  with  tasteful 
propriety  upon  a  damask  cloth,  thick,  snowy,  and 
glossy,  and  ironed  in  an  arabesque  pattern.  From  the 
clear  soup,  to  the  ice-cream,  syllabubs,  and  frosted  cake 
which  were  the  dessert,  each  dish  bespoke  intelligent 
and  elegant  housewifery.  Yet  the  only  servant  he  saw 
was  the  lumpish  girl  who  had  admitted  him.  She  re 
moved  and  set  on  dishes  without  a  blunder,  decent  and 
prim  in  a  white  cape-apron,  directed,  Mr.  Wyllys  was 
sure,  in  every  movement,  by  the  mistress'  eyes,  unper 
turbed  as  these  seemed. 

Crude  brilliancy — mature  repose — thus  he  described 
the  general  characteristics  of  the  sisters'  behavior,  by  the 
time  the  meal  was  over.  Both  were  strong,  both  women  of 
intellect  and  culture.  One  was  as  self-contained  as  the 
other  was  impulsive.  He  had  never  before — and  his  ac 
quaintance  with  the  various  phases  of  American  society 
was  extensive — met  the  peer  of  either  in  farm-house  01 
country  parsonage. 


SO  JESSAMINE. 

"  I  should  as  soon  have  looked  for  rare  orchids  in  a 
daisy-field,"  was  his  figure. 

The  cousins  went  out  for  a  walk  in  the  afternoon,  a 
ramble  that  led  them  by  a  zig-zag  path,  to  the  summit  of 
Old  Windbeam.  They  had  climbed  the  hngest  boulder 
of  his  knobby  forehead,  and  sat  upon  it  in  the  shadow  of 
a  low-spreading  cedar,  smoking  the  cigar  of  contentment, 
and  surveying  at  their  leisure  the  magnificent  panorama 
unrolled  beneath  them,  when  Orrin  laid  his  hand  upon 
his  friend's  knee,  with  a  half  laugh  that  had  in  it  a  quiver 
of  wounded  affection. 

"  "Why  have  you  left  me  to  find  all  this  out  for  myself, 
old  fellow?  Did  you  doubt  my  sympathy,  or  my  discre 
tion  ? " 

Roy  did  not  turn  his  head,  but  his  fingers  closed 
strongly  and  lingeringly  upon  his  cousin's. 

':  I  doubted  neither.  There  was  nothing  I  could  tell 
you  until  very  lately.  I  came  to  Dundee,  last  September, 
to  pass  my  vacation  at  the  hotel  in  the  village  below. 
There  were  excellent  hunting  and  fishing  hereabouts,  I 
had  been  told,  and  I  brought  letters  of  introduction  to 
Mr.  Kirke  from  Dr.  Meriden  and  Professor  Blythe,  who 
were  his  college  friends.  Before  my  return  to  Hamilton, 
I  asked  and  obtained  his  permission  to  correspond  with 
his  younger  daughter,  confiding  to  him  my  ulterior 
motive  for  the  request.  He  consented  and  kept  my 
Eecret.  Our  letters  were  such  as  friends  might  exchange, 
and  mine  were  usually  read  aloud  to  her  father  and 
Bister.  When  I  reappeared  here  at  the  beginning  of  our 
intermediate  vacation  ten  days  ago,  she  received  me 
without  suspicion  or  embarrassment.  She  never  knew 
what  ray  real  feelings  toward  her  were  until  last  week— 


JESSAMINE.  31 

the  day  of  the  accident.  We  were  walking  together  when 
she  slipped  and  fell.  In  the  alarm  of  the  moment,  for 
she  nearly  fainted  with  the  pain,  and  I  thought  the  'hurt 
far  more  serious  than  it  afterward  proved  to  be,  I  spoke 
words  that  conld  not  be  misunderstood  nor  recalled.  Not 
that  I  would  recall  them  !  They  secured  for  me  the 
great  blessing  of  my  life." 

His  voice  changed  here.  Up  to  this  sentence  the  story 
was  a  quiet  recitative  he  might  have  learned  by  rote,  and 
uttered  at  the  bidding  of  one  he  felt  had  a  right  to  hear 

O  «3 

it.  The  lack  of  spontaneity  did  not  offend  the  auditor 
lie  appreciated  his  cor.sin's  richer  and  fuller  nature  suf 
ficiently  to  understand  that  the  most  abundant  springs 
of  affection  and  passion  lay  too  far  below  the  surface 
to  be  easily  forced  into  view.  He  saw,  too,  that  the 
confession  of  his  wooing  and  winning  was  made  with 
pain;  that  the  spirit  to  whose  exceeding  delicacy  of  text 
ure  and  sentiment  few  did  justice,  shrank  from  the  rev 
elation,  even  to  his  nearest  of  kin.  He  doubted  not  that 
when  the  "  alarm  "  of  which  Roy  had  spoken,  cleft  the 
sealed  stone,  the  hidden  waters  leaped  to  the  light  with 
power  that  swept  reserve,  humility  and  expediency  before 
them ;  that  Jessie  had  listened  to  pleadings  more  fervent, 
to  vows  more  solemn  than  are  poured  into  the  ear  of  one 
in  ten  thousand  of  her  sex. 

"  Does  she  recognize  this  truth?  "  he  speculated  within 
himself.  "Or  does  she — the  petted  darling  of  an  old 
man  and  an  only  sister — receive  all  this  as  the  tribute  due 
her  charms?  account  her  flippant  talk,  flashing  eyes,  and 
Echuolgirlish  arts  an  equitable  exchange  for  this  man's 
whole  being  and  life  ? " 

His  tact  was  marvellous  to  womanliness.     His  tone 


32  JESSAMINE. 

took  its  key  from  that  which  last  mot  his  car; — was 
slightly  tremulous—  purposely  subdued. 

"  Thank  you  for  allowing  me  to  share  in  your  new 
happiness  !  I  need  not  tell  you  how  heartily  I  congratu 
late  you — how  fervent  is  my  wish  that  your  wedded  life 
may  be  all  sunshine.  I  believe  the  lady  of  your  choice 
to  be  worthy  of  your  regard.  I  am  sure  she  will  have 
the  best  husband  in  the  land." 

I loy  griped  his  hand  hard. 

"  You  are  kind  to  say  it.  It  is  a  step  I  might  well 
tremble  to  take — this  asking  a  young  girl  who  has  lived 
in  an  atmosphere  of  love  and  indulgence,  and  known 
care  only  by  hearsay,  to  share  my  toils,  to  divide  with  me 
the  burden  of  whatever  sorrow  Providence  may  send  me 
.in  discipline  or  judgment ;  to  endure  my  caprices,  be 
patient  with  my  faults— be  loving  through  and  above  all." 

Orrin  held  down  his  head  to  hide  a  smile. 

"  I  am  continually  reminded  when  the  theme  of  our 
discourse  is  'dear,  delightful  woman,'  of  what  Y/illis 
says  of  his  chum  in  his  'Slingsby  Papers':  '  It  is  sel 
dom  one  meets  with  a  spark  of  genuine  chivalric  lire 
nowadays.  Job  lit  his  daily  pipe  with  it.'  If  another 
lover  were  to  talk  to  me  as  you  do,  I  should  accuse  him 
of  rank  affectation.  I  believe  you  feel  all  you  say.  Miss 
Kirke  should  be  a  proud  and  happy  woman." 

"  She  cannot  abide  that  title,"  said  Roy,  smiling. 
"  And,  indeed,  it  suits  her  as  ill  as  it  sits  well  upon  Eu 
nice." 

"Is  that  the  elder  sister?  I  thought  she  was  'Una.' 
That  would  be  a  fitting  name  for  the  chaste  beauty. 
I  glanced  down,  involuntarily,  for  the  tamed  lion  couch- 
aiit  beneath  her  chair,  when  Miss  Jessie  spoke  it." 


JESSAMINE.     .  33 

"  She  is  '  Eunice '  to  everybody  else.  They  had  not 
the  same  mother,  and  there  is  a  difference  of  ten  years 
in  their  ages.  The  first  Mrs.  Kirke  was,  I  judge,  a  se 
date  pastoress  who  looked  well  after  her  household  and  her 
husband's  flock.  Her  praise  is  still  in  the  churches  of 
this  region.  She  died  when  the  little  Eunice  was  at  the 
age  of  five.  Four  years  afterward,  Mr.  Kirke  brought 
to  the  manse  a  beautiful  woman — city  born  and  bred,  re 
fined,  accomplished,  and  delicate.  She  fell  into  ill-health 
very  soon.  Bland  as  this  climate  seems  to  us  who  live 
so  much  further  North,  it  was  harsh  to  her.  She  was  a 
South  Carolinian,  and  her  fondness  for  her  old  home 
grew  into  longing  during  her  residence  among  these 
mountains.  Her  invalidism  became  confirmed  after  the 
birth  of  her  babe.  In  memory  of  the  sunny  bowers  in 
which  her  girlhood  had  been  passed,  she  gave  it  the  fan 
ciful — you  may  think  fantastic— name  of  Jessamine." 

"  It  is  odd,  but  pretty,  and  it  suits  her." 

"  Her  fondness  for  the  vine  and  fashion  of  wearing 
the  flower  may  appear  to  you  and  to  others  a  girlish 
whim.  In  reality,  they  are  the  motherless  child's  tribute 
to  the  memory  of  the  parent  whom  she  recollects  with 
fondest  devotion,  although  she  was  but  five  years  old  at 
her  death." 

"  She  told  me  she  had  known  no  home  but  this  valley. 
The  sisters  were  not  educated  in  the  country,  I  take  it  ? " 

"  The  elder  graduated  with  distinction  at  Bethlehem. 
It  ^as  her  mother's  dying  request  that  she  should,  at  a 
Buitalle  age,  be  sent  to  the  Moravian  Seminary  at  that 
place.  She  was  thorough  and  conscientious  in  her  stud 
ies,  as  in  everything  else,  cultivating  her  talents  for 
music  and  modern  languages  with  especial  diligence  that, 

a* 


34:  JESSAMINE. 

as  she  has  told  me,  '  it  might  not  be  necessary  to  send 
little  Jessie  from  home  to  school.'  The  younger  sister 
has  had  no  teachers  except  Eunice  and  their  father,  who 
is  a  fine  classical  scholar." 

"  And  a  man  of  far  more  than  ordinary  ability,  1 
should  suppose.  Why  has  he  buried  himself  alive  in  this 
out-of -the- world  region  ?  " 

"  Because  he  is  essentially  unworldly,  I  imagine.  lie 
has  here  ample  opportunity  for  study,  and  he  loves  his 
books  next  to  his  children.  Then,  his  attachment  to  the 
parsonage  and  to  his  people  is  strong.  '  I  was  ambitious 
of  distinction  in  my  profession,  once,'  he  said  to  me  the 
other  day,  '  but  that  was  before  rny  wife's  death.'  It 
may  sound  like  exaggerated  sentiment,  but  I  believe  lie 
means  to  live  and  die  in  sight  of  her  grave.  I  have 
learned  from  Eunice  something  about  his  love  for  her, 
and  his  o;rief  at  her  death. 

O 

"  I  have  given  you  this  sketch  of  the  family  history 
that  you  may  better  comprehend  what  passes  in  the 
household.  My  lodgings  are  at  the  hotel,  as  are  yours, 
but  most  of  our  time  will,  of  course,  bo  spent  at  the  Par 
sonage.  I  want  you  to  know  and  like  them  all — particu 
larly  Jessie.  It  may  be  that  you  can  be  of  service  to  her 
while  I  am  abroad." 

"What  does  she  say  to  that  scheme?  " 

"  I  have  said  nothing  to  her  about  it.  I  dread  the 
task!"  Roy  looked  very  grave.  "Her  father  agrees 
with  me  that  it  is  wiser  to  be  silent  on  the  subject  until 
my  plans  are  definitely  laid.  I  would  prolong  the  clear 
shining  of  her  day  while  I  can." 

He  arose,  apparently  anxious  to  dismiss  the  subjoct. 
*'  We  must  go !  Eunice's  tea-table  is  ready  at  sunset." 


JESSAMINE.  35 

"  lie  cannot  trust  himself  to  discuss  tliis  matter  oi 
their  separation,"  said  Orrin,  inly,  following  the  rapid 
stride  of  his  thoughtful  cousin  down  the  mountain. 

O 

"  One  tear  from  his  pert  Amaryllis  would  reverse  his  de 
cision  at  this,  the  eleventh  hour.  '  Lord  !  what  fools  these 
lovers  be!'" 

The  manse  meadows  were  gained  by  a  rustic  foot 
bridge  spanning  the  creek  which  skirted  these.  Two 
young  men,  whom  Mr.  Wyllys  rightly  supposed  to  be 
members  of  the  "  Committee  upon  Orator  of  the  Day," 
were  waiting  here  to  speak  to  Mr.  Fordham,  probably  to 
solicit  a  copy  of  his  address  for  publication,  the  consider 
ate  kinsman  further  surmised,  and  sauntered  on  to  the 
garden,  leaving  the  other  to  follow  when  he  would.  Lin 
gering  among  the  fragrant  borders,  momentarily  expect 
ing  Roy  to  rejoin  him,  he  lost  himself  in  a  rose  labyrinth, 
so  affluent  of  bloom  and  odor,  that  he  did  not  know 
where  he  wras  until  warned  of  his  proximity  to  the  oriel- 
window  by  Jessie's  voice.  Through  a  crevice  in  the 
creepers,  he  could  see  her  lounge  set  in  the  spacious  re 
cess,  and  the  back  of  her  head  as  she  raised  it  to  speak  to 
some  one  within  the  room. 

"Roy  described  him  as  distingue  and  fascinating!" 
she  said,  in  an  accent  of  chagrin.  "  I  call  him  positively 
homely  !  Don't  you  ? " 

Orrin  should  have  moved — assured  as  he  was  that  he 
was  the  subject  of  unflattering  remark.  In  his  code,  this 
was  a  reason  why  he  should  remain  acquiescent  and 
hearken  for  more.  Perhaps  others  who  make  higher 
pretensions  to  the  minor  moralities  would  have  done  like 
wise. 

"  He  is  not  handsome,  certainly,"  returned  Miss  Kirke. 


36  JESSAMINE. 

"You  are  disposed  to  be  unreasonable  because  your  ex 
pectations  were  unduly  raised." 

"  By  his  cousin  who  told  me  he  was  the  most  popular 
man  in  Hamilton — one  of  the  glass-of -fashion  and  mould- 
of-form  kind,  you  know,"  continued  Jessie,  in  increasing 
vexation.  "  Am  I  to  be  blamed  if  I  lose  at  least  the  out 
posts  of  my  temper  when,  having  expected  an  Adonis,  I 
behold—" 

"A  gentleman!"  Her  sister  finished  the  sentence. 
"  Since  he  is  that,  dear,  and  Mr.  Fordham's  cousin,  he 
should  be  safe  from  our  criticism.  At  least,  while  he  is 
our  guest." 

There  was  a  pause  before  Jessie  spoke  again. 

"Darling  Euna !  are  you  displeased  with  me?"  she 
said  eoaxingly.  "  I  was  cross  and  unladylike,  I  acknowl- 

O     •/  v 

edge.  I  ought  not  to — I  did  not  expect  that  he  would  be 
Hoy's  equal  in  appearance  or  manner,  but  I  am  grievously 
disappointed." 

"  Not  to  be  outdone  in  generous  candor,  I  own  that  1 
am,  also,"  was  the  reply. 

The  elder  sister  approached  the  window  as  she  said  it ; 
and  Mr.  Wyllys  effected  a  skilful  retreat, 

The  labyrinth  had  its  terminus  in  a  matted  arbor  near 
the  church-yard  fence.  Sitting  down  in  this,  the  subject 
of  the  recent  discussion  indulged  himself  in  u  hearty 
but  noiseless  fit  of  laughter. 


CHAPTER   III. 

WYLLYS  could  afford  to  laugh  at  criticism 
;that  Mrould  have  provoked  a  thin-skinned,  ormoder- 
'ately-vain  man  to  anger,  if  not  to  hatred.  For  he 
iwas  aware  that  his  cousin  had  spoken  the  bare  truth 
when  he  represented  him  as  the  admired  Crichton  of 
the  town  which  was  their  home.  His  features  and  form 
were  as  I  have  portrayed  them.  He  had  neither  beauty 
nor  absolute  symmetry  to  recommend  these.  lie  was  not 
wealthy,  nor  yet  eminent  in  his  profession.  A  lawyer  in 
fair  practice,  gained  principally  by  the  exercise  of  other 
gifts  than  legal  acumen,  he  was  yet  a  person  of  mark  in 
the  community.  The  reason  assigned  for  this  would  have 
been  the  same,  in  effect,  by  every  acquaintance,  whether 
the  witness  were  the  line  lady  of  ton  who  made  sure  of 
him  before  issuing  her  cards  for  the  grand  ball  of  the 
season,  or  the  Milesian  who  "stepped  intil  his  Honor's 
office  to  ask  him  could  I  take  the  law  of  Teddy  O'Rourke 
for  this  black  eye,  or  is  it  himself  that  will  be  afther 
taking  the  law  of  me  for  the  two  I've  give  him? '* 


38  JESSAMINE. 

"  Not  regularly  handsome,  I  admit,  my  dear,"  Mrs. 
Beau  Monde  would  say.  "  But  there  is  something  more 
potent,  as  more  subtle  in  influence  in  his  presence  and 
speech.  Do  you  know  I  think  a  fascinating  homely  man 
the  most  charming  creature  in  the  world  ?  And  Mr. 
Wyllys'  deportment,  tone,  and  conversation  are  unsur 
passable.  Other  men  may  be  as  well-bred,  but  there  is  a 
nameless  Something  about  his  manner  that  is  exquisite 
and  irresistible." 

While  Murphy  would  expatiate  by  the  hour  upon  the 
"  satisfaction  a  man  experienced  in  daleing  wid  a  pairfect 
gintleman,  and  it  was  Misther  Wyllys  had  the  beautiful 
way  wid  him  !  " 

That  he  danced  elegantly,  sang  expressively,  and  was  a 
pleasing  pianist;  that  he  was  conversant  with  the  current 
literature  of  the  day ;  that  the  stereotyped  cant  known 
us  "  art  criticism "  fell  from  his  tongue  aptly,  and  as  if 
no  one  else  had  ever  used  the  same  phrases  in  his  audi 
tor's  hearing, — undoubtedly  contributed  largely  to  his 
popularity;  but  these  accomplishments  were  secondary 
in  power  to  the  nameless  Something  lauded  by  Mrs.  Beau 
Monde.  His  own  sex  recognized  the  charm  more  \viil- 
ingly  than  they  are  wont  to  acknowledge  the  claims  to 
favoritism  of  one  who  is  the  woman's  darling  of  his  set. 
The  graceful  insouciance  that  artfully  concealed  his  con 
sciousness  of  the  degree  long  ago  awarded  him,  as  "  Pet 
of  the  Petticoats;"  his  gay  good-humor,  his  fund  of 
anecdote  and  repartee,  made  him  as  welcome  at  bachelors' 
wine  and  dinner-parties  as  in  mixed  companies.  If  his 
negligent  saunter  through  the  assembly-room,  his  delib 
erate  articulation  and  grave,  deferential  bend  before  his 
fair  vassals,  provoked  ill-nature  to  the  charge  of  puppy- 


JESSAMINE.  39 

•sin,  the  censor  was  silenced  by  tales  of  his  proficiency 
I  n  manly  sports ;  how  in  the  gymnasium  and  billiard- 
room,  upon  the  cricket-green  and  skating-pond,  he  had 
Few  eqnals,  so  seldom  found  a  superior,  that  his  exploits 
tiad  passed  into  a  proverb. 

After  all,  however,  his  brightest  bays  were  gained  in 
Riis  character  as  carpet  knight.  Trained  coquettes  and 
[professional  flirts,  flushed  by  a  long  course  of  victories, 
had  put  confident  lances  in  rest  and  run  vain-glorious 
lilts  with  him.  He  was  always  ready  to  accept  the 
challenge  ;  ready  to  become,  for  a  few  days,  or,  in  ex 
ceptionally  tough  cases,  a  few  weeks,  the  apparent  captive 
of  the  ambitious  belle.  The  approach  of  proud  humility 
than  which  nothing  could  have  been  more  opposed  to 
servility  of  spirit  or  demeanor;  the  gradual,  and  finally 
rapt  absorption  of  his  every  faculty  and  sentiment  into 
his  unspoken  adoration  of  her  whose  chains  he  wore; 
the  delicate  appreciation  of  each  shade  of  feeling  and 
thought,  and  prescience  of  each  desire ; — above  and  be 
neath  all,  his  singular  faculty  of  adaptation  to  the  various 
phases  of  character  set  for  his  reading. — could  hardly  fail, 
first,  to  disarm,  then  to  flatter,  finally  tt  captivate. 

Up  to  this  period  of  his  career,  when  he  had  entered 
his  nine-and-twentieth  year,  nobody  said  openly  of  him 
that  his  business  in  life  was  to  win  hearts  for  the  pleasure 
of  breaking  them.  If  he  had  broken  any,  his  victims 
made  no  moan.  In  the  cases  of  the  veteran  coquettes 
alluded  to  just  now,  sympathy  would  have  been  thrown 
away.  There  were  stealthy  whispers  to  the  effect,  how 
ever,  that  others,  less  wary,  had  been  drawn  into  his 
snare  ;  had  dreamed  of  love,  and,  awakening  to  anguished 
perception  of  their  folly,  had  shrouded  bleeding  hearts  in 


£0  JESSAMINE. 

robes  of  pricle  or  Christian  resignation,  and  lived  on  out 
wardly  as  little  changed  by  the  experience  as  was  he.  It 
is  superfluous  to  remark  that  these  cautious  rumors  lent 
lustre  to  his  fame  instead  of  tarnishing  it ;  that  dozens  of 
intrepid  damsels  were  wrought  by  the  hearing  into  a 

i  O  v  O 

Gurtins-like  spirit  of  self-immolation  ;  panted  to  leap, 
bedecked  in  their  bravest  array,  into  the  gulf  which 
yawned  to  destroy  the  safety  and  peace  of  mind  of  the 
whole  sisterhood  of  marriageable 'worn en  in  the  classic 
town  of  Hamilton.  The  envious,  nor  the  prudish,  stig 
matized  him  as  a  lady-killer.  The  coarse  term  would  be 
an  insult  to  his  refinement,  his  notable  honor,  and  equally 
notable  kindness  of  heart.  lie  was,  beyond  question,  the 
most  charming  of  men,  a  social  diamond  of  the  lirst 
water,  although  the  obtuse  daughters  of  the  Dundee 

*  O  O 

inanse  had  not  at  once  discovered  it. 

What  wonder  that  he,  sitting  among  the  roses  in  the 
arbor,  found  infinite  diversion  in  the  recollection  that  he 
was  pronounced  by  Jessie  "  positively  homely  "  — utterly 
unattractive  beside  her  handsome  lover,  and  that  her 
more  discreet  sister  had  mildly  echoed  her  disappoint 
ment? 

lie  enjoyed  the  novelty  of  the  incident  and  the  laugh 
it  gave  him — was  sincere  in  the  half-spoken  regret — 
"  What  a  pity  I  cannot  publish  this  verdict  and  the  man 
ner  of  its  delivery,  in  Hamilton." 

With  that,  he  pulled  down  a  branch  of  musk  roses  nod 
ding  above  his  head ;  broke  it,  tore  off  the  petals  until  he 
had  a  double  handful,  and  buried  his  face  in  the  odorous 
mass.  Roy  came  up  with  him  as  the  sound  of  low,  sweet 
singing  moved  the  stillness  of  the  garden  and  the  sunset 
into  music.  The  songstress  was  Jessie,  lying  within  her 


JESSAMINE.  41 

I  oriel-window  alone,  and  gazing  at  the  amber  ocean  bil 
lowing  above  the  purple  hills  at  the  outlet  of  the  valley. 
I  Her  rich  contralto  voice  was  like  the  colored  light  and 
jthc  mask  roses,  Orrin  thought,  in  no  wise  tempted  to  dis- 
ilike   or  underrate   her  because   she   did   not  value  him 
aright.     That   mistake  would  rectify  itself,  by  and  by. 
He   could    stay   a   fortnight  in  Dundee  as  well  as   not. 
Hoy  had  pressed  him  to  do  so,  and  he  began  to  think  he 
would. 

This  was  what  Jessie  sang,  never  dreaming  of  the  audi 
ence,  fit,  but  few,  hidden  in  the  blossoming  thicket : 

"  Sleeping,  I  dreamed,  Love — dreamed,  Love,  of  thee  ; 
O'er  the  bright  wave,  Love,  floating  were  we. 
Light  in  thy  fair  hair  played  the  soft  wind, 
Gently  thy  white  arms  round  me  were  twined  ; 
And  as  thy  song,  Love,  swelled  o'er  the  sea, 
Fondly  thy  blue  eyes  beamed,  Love,  on  me." 

Neither  of  the  cousins  stirred  until  the  song  was  fin 
ished,  when  a  robin  in  the  nearest  elm  began  his  vespers. 

"  This  is  Arcadia ! "  said  Orrin,  ravishing  another 
spray — great  white  roses  this  time,  with  creamy  hearts. 

"  It  is  home  !  "  replied  the  other,  softly. 

Orrin  appeared  not  to  hear  him. 

"  Or  the  Vale  of  Cashmere  !  "  he  went  on,  drawing  in 
long  breaths  of  perfume.  "  Here  are 

"  '  Timid  jasmine  buds  that  keep 
Their  odors  to  themselves  all  day, 
But  when  the  funlight  dies  away 
Let  the  delicious  secret  out — ' 

roses  of  Kathay  and  bulbuls — and  Nourraahal  1 " 


4:2  JESSAMINE. 

Roy  looked  at  him  over  his  shoulder. 

"  If  you  have  pulled  enough  of  Eunu  e's  rare,  early 
roses  to  pieces  to  satisfy  your  destructive  proclivities,  we 
will  go  in,"  he  said,  pleasantly. 

Something  in  his  friend's  eye  and  tone  disinclined  him 
to  pursue  the  theme.  He  could  not  suspect  him  of  an 
intention  to  ridicule  Jessie  or  her  home,  but  he  felt  the 
absence  of  sympathy  with  his  own  mood. 

"Are  they  hers?"  asked  the  other,  brushing  the 
wasted  leaves  in  an  unheeded  shower  to  the  floor. 

Roy  paid  no  regard  to  the  emphasis.  He  was  strangely 
averse  to  talking  about  Jessie  at  that  moment. 

"They  are,"  he  said,  leading  the  way  to  the  house,  Orrin 
treading  on  the  scattered  flakes  of  fragrance,  to  gain 
the  door  of  the  bower.  "  She  is  an  able  florist.  There 
is  not  another  garden  like  hers  for  many  miles  around." 

No  one  excepting  Jessie  observed  that  Mr.  AVyllys  did 
not  accost  her  of  his  own  accord  while  they  were  at  tea, 
which  was  set  out  upon  a  small  table  near  the  large  win 
dow  in  the  parlor.  She,  used  to  petting,  and  what  might 
have  been  considered  by  an  impartial  judge  more  than 
her  share  of  general  attention,  and  a  trifle  nervous  withal, 
in  her  desire  to  produce  an  agreeable  impression  upon 
Roy's  kinsman,  did  remark  it,  and  was  conscience- 
smitten,  by  the  fear  lest  her  chagrin  at  beholding  a  man 
so  unlike  her  pre-conceived  ideal  had  been  reflected  in 
her  manner.  She  seized  an  opportunity,  therefore,  when 
Roy  rolled  the  table  to  its  accustomed  place  in  the  middle 
of  the  apartment,  to  court  Orrin's  notice. 

"  So  you  ascended  our  Mont  Blanc  this  afternoon  ? '' 
she  said,  smiling  engagingly.  "  I  must  retract  my  saucj 
innuendoes  touching  your  fondness  for  ease." 


JESSAMINE.  43 

[  lie  was  quite  near  her,  but  lie  must  have  been  inatten- 
i.  vu,  for  he  turned  his  face  to  her,  with — "  Pardon  me ! 
I  did  not  catch  your  observation !  " 

r  '•  It  was  nothing  so  dignified  as  an  observation,"  she 
retorted,  coloring  and  laughing.  ."If  I  were  to  repeat 
:,  you  would  be  reminded  of  the  poor  girl  whose  com 
plaint — 'The  soup  is  hot,'  uttered  confidentially  to  a 
leaf  old  lady  who  chanced  to  sit  next  her  at  a  dinner 
party,  was  the  signal  for  the  solemn  production  of  an 
tar-trumpet,  and  the  remark — audible  to  all  present — 
A  very  profound  and  interesting  observation,  I  doubt 
lot,  my  dear  !  Will  you  oblige  me  by  repeating  it? ' ' 

Mr.  Wyllys  laughed  in  well-bred  moderation  that, 
-omehow,  made  Jessie  feel  that  her  little  story  was  not 
,  ery  amusing,  and  had  been  tamely  told. 

"  I  submit  to  the  consequences  of  my  deafness,  rather 
!  han  annoy  you  by  the  ear-trumpet,"  was  his  answer. 

Bowing,  in  quitting  her,  he  followed  Mr.  Kirke  to 
;  mother  window. 

"  We  were  speaking  of  Raskin's  '  Stones  of  Venice,1 
iio-day,"  Jessie  heard  him  begin. 

She  had  read  the  book,  and  would  have  enjoyed 
ilistening  to  their  discussion  of  it,  as  did  Eunice,  to  whom 
Mr.  Wyllys  appealed  at  her  re-entrance,  setting  a  chair 
for  her  by  her  father's,  and  establishing  himself  in  front 
of  them. 

Roy  apparently  did  not  object  to  this  arrangement,  for 
he  drew  a  stool  to  the  sofa,  and  talked  to  Jessie,  aside, 
of  things  that  would  have  interested  her  be}Tond  all  other 
subjects,  but  for  the  sight  of  that  group  in  the  moonlight 
that  now  flooded  the  room.  It  kept  astir  the  uneasy 
sensation  produced  by  Mr.  Wyllys'  marked  avoidance 


44  JESSAMINE. 

of  her  at  tea-time.  While  her  hand  lay  within  hei*  j 
lover's,  and  her  ear  drank  in  all  he  said,  and  her  hearli 
beat,  fast  and  warm,  as  he  only  could  make  it  pulsate! 
she  was  ashamed  to  catch  herself  watching  the  slendeai 
figure,  bending  easily*  forward,  his  elbow  upon  the  table!  i 
at  his  side,  his  chin  upon  his  hand,  now  in  an  attitude!  • 
of  respectful  attention,  while  her  father  or  Eunice  spokej, 
again  talking  earnestly — she  was  sure,  eloquently  also,—! 
in  the  low,  cleverly  modulated  accents  of  which  he  watt 
the  consummate  master.  Did  he  then  regard  her  as  a 
feather-brained  rattle  ?  a  forward  school  girl,  of  whose!-: 
prattle  he  was  already  weary,  and  whom  he  adjudged 
incapable  of  entering  into,  or  appreciating,  intellectual* 
conversation  ? 

"  Oh  dear ! "  escaped  her,  when  she  reached  this) 
point. 

Hoy  looked  amazed — almost  aghast — as  well  he  might.1. 
He  was  in  the  middle  of  a  description  of  their  f  utuiw 
home,  prefatory  of  a  hint  he  deemed  it  best  to  drop! 
relative  to  a  petition  he  had  laid  before  the  trustees  oa 
the  college  in  which  he  was  professor.  This  had  asked* 
a  year's  leave  of  absence,  that  he  might  pursue  the  studw 
of  the  German  language  and  literature  abroad  with  one* 
or  two  other  branches  of  his  profession.  Orrin  Wylly» 
had  brought  him  letters  of  approbation  from  the  body! 
named,  and  the  time  had  come  when  he  must  feel  hitK 
way  gently  to  the  announcement  of  the  approaching  sepi 
aration. 

"My  darling  I"  he  said.  "What  is  it?  Are  you  inj 
pain  ? " 

"Yes!  Not  my  foot!"  seeing  him  look  at  it.  "1; 
have  a  desperate  heartache  !  I  shall  never  be  good  andl 


JESSAMINE.  45 

,-ise  enough  for  you,  Hoy !     And  you  will  discover  this 
nr  yourself,  one  day." 

"  That  is  the  only  really  foolish  thing  I  have  ever 
eard  you  say!"  returned  he,  in  fond  raillery.  ''I  am 
j>rmented,  without  intermission,  by  the  conviction  that 
am  unworthy  of  your  regard,  so  we  will  let  the  one 
^ar  neutralize  the  other.  Love  is  a  powerful  solvent, 
ear.  It  will  melt  these  stubborn  doubts — these  flint- 
lones  of  fancied  incompatibility,  that  fret  your  heart 
i'hen  you  meditate  upon  the  chances  that  we  shall  make 
ue  another  happy." 

"  But  if  I  were  sedate  and  discreet ;  cautious  as  to 
•hat  I  sajr,  and  to  whom  I  say  it, — more  learned  and 
ioautiful — more  like  the  blessed  old  Euna  over  there. 
<  >u  see  " — in  real  mortification — "  I  cannot  express  the 
•ish  to  reform  without  falling  into  my  nonsensical  tricks 
: speech ! " 

Roy  could  not  preserve  his  gravity. 
"  I  am  not  laughing  at  you ! "  he  whispered,  as  she 
ing  her  arm  over  her  eyes.  "  What  has  moved  you  to 
is  sensitiveness — and  with  me?  I  could  but  liken  my 
ntiments  in  the  imaginary  survey  of  the  pattern  bride 
)U  would  give  me  to  those  of  Jacob,  who  was  put  off 
ith  the  demure  Leah,  when  he  had  bargained  for  witch- 
g  wicked  Rachel." 

"  The  comparison  is  an  insult  to  Euna  !  "  interrupted 
issie,  warmly.  "  I  said  you  ought  to  marry  a  woman 
ce  her — pure  as  a  pearl,  true  as  steel — in  principle  like 
lamant.  Leah!  Bah!  I  always  detested  her!  She 
as  a  sly,  heartless  traitor — a  smooth-tongued  hypo- 
ite,  who  cozened  the  pretty  young  sister  whom  she 
ivied — becoming,  as  she  did,  a  willing  party  to  lief 


46  JESSAMINE. 

father's  fraud.     She   deserved   all  the  nnhappmess  shtl 
got!"  ' 

"  We  shall  not  differ  there.  The  '  tender-eyed  '  Jewess! 
is  no  favorite  of  mine.  But,  even  supposing  that  I  were! 
to  sacrifice  inclination  to  a  sense  of  what  yon  consider 
the  fitness  of  things,  Eunice  or  one  like  her  would  nevea 
elect  to  marry  me.  It  is  dissimilarity  in  certain  eharael 
teristics  that  provides  the  host  sauce  for  courtship.  YoiJ 
sister,  for  instance,  would  be  well-mated  with  a  ma« 
like  Mr.  Wyllys,  the  salient  points  of  whose  character  are 
those  which  she  has  not." 

"  In  other  words,  you  think  the  interests  of  the  drama! 
demand  that  I  should  do  the  light  comedy  as  a  counteiw 
poise  to  your  heavy  tragedy  ?  "  said  Jessie,  appeased! 
"I  am  sure  I  could  never  like  your  cousin — or  one  like! 
him — well  enough  to  think  of  marrying  him." 

"I  don't  ask  you  to  do  it!  "  rejoined  Hoy,  playfully* 
"  But  do  not,  on  that  account,  shut  your  eyes  to  his  real 
excellence.     lie  is  to  be  your  brother,  remember — for  I 
have  no  other.     His  father  was  my  guardian,  and  whili 
he  lived,  I  scarcely  felt  the  early  loss  of  my  parents.     T<i 
Orrin  personally,  I    owe    much.     He  is  four  years  raj 
senior,  and  when  we  were  at  school,  he  fought  man! 
a  battle  in  my  behalf  with  boys  bigger  than  either  of  nl 
Then,  we  were   separated  for  seven  years,  seeing   onJ 
another  only   in  vacations    and    casual    furloughs   froJ 
business.     lie  is  one  of  the  trustees  of  our  college,  ancl 
although  he  will  not  admit  it,  I  am  persuaded  that  I  aiB 
indebted  to  his  influence,  seconded  as  it  was  by  my  dead 
old  friend,  Dr.  Baxter's  advocacy  of  my  cause, — for  ing 
Professorship.      You   will    like    and    esteem    him    whea 
you  come  to  know  him.     I  hope  yon  two  will  be  grea* 


JESSAMINE.  47 

friends  in  time.  As  a  preliminary  to  your  better  under 
standing,  and  consequently  your  admiration  for  him — I 
am  a'oins:  to  ask  him  for  some  music." 

O  O 

Orrin  obeyed  the  call,  but  not  with  alacrity.  lie 
seemed  altogether  content  with  his  location  and  his  com 
panions. 

"  Please  do  not  order  lights !  "  he  said  to  Eunice  who 
arose  with  him.  "  No  illumination  can  be  preferable  to  the 
mountain  moonlight.  It  is  radiance  clarified  to  purity." 

It  revealed  to  him,  from  his  seat  upon  the  music-stool, 
a  picture  he  was  artist  enough  to  enjoy.  Jessie's  white 
dre^s  and  pillows  were  flecked  by  the  irregular  tracery 
of  vine-shadows,  but,  through  an  opening  in  the  leafy 
lattice,  the  moon  poured  a  stream  of  light  upon  her  face 
and  bust,  revealing  even  the  gleam  of  the  betrothal  ring 
upon  the  hand  supporting  her  cheek.  Hoy  had  opened 
the  piano,  and  now  stood  at  her  feet  in  the  shade,  leaning 
against  the  wall — a  dark,  motionless  sentinel,  with  folded 
arms  and  bowed  head,  listening  to  the  music,  or  watchful 
of  her. 

The  player  essayed  no  scientific  surprises  ;  no  juggling 
complication  of  fingers  and  "keys.  lie  began  with  a 
moonlight  sonata,  the  original  theme  of  which  might  have 
been  rung  by  fairy  hands  upon  the  jessamine  bells,  "giv 
ing  their  delicious  secrets  out"  under  the  weight  of  sum 
mer  dew.  From  this  he  strayed  into  the  "  Midsummer 
Night's  Dream," — thence  to  the  most  beautiful  of  the 
musical  paradoxes,  "  Songs  Without  Words,"  and  there 
rested. 

"  More,  please ! "  entreated  Jessie,  in  dreamy  delight. 

Both  hands  were  folded  under  her  cheek  now,  and  sho 
had  not  moved  since  he  finished  the  fairy  sonata. 


4:8  JESSAMINE. 

"  This  is  Elysium  !  "  she  added,  softly. 

"  Bat  sing,  Orrin — won't  you  ?  "  asked  Hoy. 

So  long  as  his  cousin's  music  brought  his  darling  more 
pleasure  than  did  conversation  with  himself,  the  gener 
ous  fellow  would  contribute  in  this  way  to  her  gratifica 
tion. 

"  You  wouldn't  have  wondered  at  or  blamed  me,  if 
yon  had  ever  heard  him  sing,"  said  a  broken-hearted  wife 
to  me  once,  in  reviewing  the  circumstances  of  her  early 
acquaintance  with  the  man  who  had  married,  neglected, 
brutally  ill-used,  and  finally  deserted  her.  lie  was  bully, 
ruffian,  liar,  cheat,  and  drunkard,  but  he  sang  like  an 
angel,  giving  to  words  and  music  a  depth  and  delicacy  of 
expression  that  sounded  to  the  listeners  like  heavenly  in 
spiration.  "With  the  visage  of  a  Caliban  and  the  appe 
tites  of  a  satyr,  he  yet  moved  others  to  smiles,  tears,  high 
and  holy  aspirations,  to  solemn  or  wild  enthusiasm,  re 
ligious  or  patriotic.  His  musical  genius  was  the  talis 
man  by  which  he  made  himself  popular,  courted,  envied, 
passionately  beloved.  Orrin  Wyllys'  voice,  his  exquisite 
taste  in  and  knowledge  of  music  would  have  won  him 
social  distinction  had  he  been  awkward  in  carriage,  boor 
ish  in  manner,  and  an  ignoramus.  There  was  not  another 
amateur  performer  in  his  circle  who  could  ever  hope  to 
equal  him  in  effective  and  scientific  execution.  In  the 
keeping  of  some — of  many — the  gift  would  have  been  a 
joy  and  a  beneficence.  He  had  none  more  dangerous—- 
and  he  knew  it,  lightly  as  he  affected  to  esteem  it. 

If  his  first  selection  on  this  occasion  harmonized  less 
perfectly  with  the  hush  and  chastened  lustre  of  the  even 
ing  than  his  unsyllabled  melodies  had  clone,  he  was  ex 
cusable  since  it  developed  the  best  tones  of  his  voice.  It 


JESSAMINE.  49 

•as  Mrs.  Norton's  sea  lyric — "Tlie  Outward  Bound." 
auditors  felt  the  rush  of  the  favoring  wind  that  had 
)iung  up  at  dawn;  heard  the  flap  of  the  sails  as  they 
i led, and  the  creak  of  the  line  that  strained  at  the  anchor; 
i\v  the  knot  of  parting  friends  ;  the  close,  tight  luuui- 

asp,  that  helped  force  back  the  tears  from  eyes  that 

(Mild  fain  smile  farewell. 

"  It  is  a  line  old  song,"  said  Mr.  Kirke.  "  I  heard  it 
lany  years  ago.  I  thank  you,  Mr.  Wyllys,  for  reviving 
ic  memory." 

"  This  generation  has  nothing  that  can  compare  worthily 
rith  the  music  of  other  days,"  replied  Orrin's  voice  from 
is  shaded  corner.  "  The  true  lover  of  the  art  must  turn 
'roin  the  potpourri  of  the  modern  opera,  the  unfiavored 
-hey  of  fashionable  ballads,  with  the  craving  of  him 
Tho,  having  tasted  the  mellow  wine,  refuses  the  new — 
>r  he  saith,  '  the  old  is  better.' " 

Jessie  moved  like  one  awaking  from  a  trance — spoke 
ith  feigned  lightness. 

"  '  To  weep  is  a  woman's  part!'  I  don't  like  that  line 
:  your  song,  Mr.  Wyllys.  If  your  'Outward  Bound' 
ad  admitted  mothers,  sisters,  and  wives  to  the  parting 
anquet,  they  would  have  borne  themselves  as  bravely  as 
id  their  masculine  comrades,  and  without  the  aid  of  the 
sparkling  brimmer,'  which  is,  I  suppose,  the  poetical 
ame  for  a  potion  known,  hereabouts,  as  '  mountain  dew  ' 
v  '  Dutch  courage.'  But  if  poets  of  the  stronger  sex  ai-3 
>  be  believed,  Niobe  was  the  prototype  woman." 

"  Your  quarrel  is  with  one  of  your  own  sex,  Miss  Jes- 
e ;  not  with  me  or  mine,"  was  the  cool  rejoinder. 
Mrs.  Norton  wrote  the  offensive  line." 

"  There  is  something  very  like  it  in  Kiugsley's  '  Three 


50  JESSAMINE. 

Fishers,' "  said  Roy,  to  cover  Jessie  a  trifling  discomfit 
ure.     "  Let  us  have  that  next." 

Mr.  Wyllys  Bang  it,  giving  to  the  refrain  a  weary  sad 
ness,  exceeding  pathos.  lie  knew  how  effective  this  was 
svhen  he  saw  Jessie's  hand  steal  np  to  her  eyes.  She  did 
not  plead  for  "more,"  or  cavil  at  "Men  must  work  and 
women  must  weep,"  when  he  left  the  instrument,  and 
went  back  to  the  window  where  Eunice  was  sitting. 

"  If  you  and  your  father  are  not  afraid  of  the  dew,  I 
should  like  to  see  the  mountains  in  this  light,"  he  said, 
persuasively.  "  Dare  you  walk  for  a  little  while  upon  the 
porch  ? " 

The  three  went  out  together. 

'•  Don't  stay  here,  Roy  !  "  begged  Jessie.  "  The  view 
must  be  fine  to-night.  It  is  not  fair  that  you  should  be 
tied  to  my  side  all  the  time.  I  feel  as  if  I  were  defraud 
ing  your  cousin  of  his  share  of  your  societ}"." 

"  You  must  continue  to  upbraid  yourself  with  the  theft, 
then,"  answered  Roy,  reseating  himself  upon  the  otto 
man,  and  drawing  her  head  to  his  shoulder.  "  Or,  rather, 
my  pet,  you  must  cease  to  imagine  that  I  could  prefer 
any  society  to  yours,  any  scene  to  the  delightful  seclusion 
of  this,  our  betrothal  nook.  Orrin  knows  all.  lie  has 
fine  tact,  and  comprehends  how  precious  to  me  is  every 
hour  passed  with  you." 

This  was  a  plausible  solution  of  the  reserve  which  puz 
zled  and  pained  her.  Jessie  tried  to  receive  it  in  full 
faith,  and  forgot  to  watch  the  forms  strolling  back  and 
forth  before  the  two  windows  which  opened  upon  the 
piazza.  When  the  party  broke  up  for  the  night,  she  ex 
tended  her  hand  to  Orrin  in  cousinly  freedom. 

« 

"  I   mean  to  make  rny  trial   effort   at  sitting  up,  to 


JESSAMINE.  51 

morrow,"  she  said,  blithely.  "  And  we  will  have  somo 
music.  Euna  doesn't  sing,  but  she  will  play  out*  accom 
paniments,  since  Mr.  Fordham.  disdains  the  piano." 

"I  threw  a  number  of  instrumental  duets  into  my 
trunk  yesterday,"  said  Orrin  to  Miss  Kirke.  "  I  did  not 
then  know  why  I  did  it.  I  understand  now  that  I  had 
some  intuition  of  coming  enjoyment.  May  I  bring  them 
up  to-morrow  ? " 

Jessie  had  never  been  jealous  of  Eunice  in  her  life. 
Her  disposition  was  as  generous  as  it  was  impetuous. 
She  did  not  care,  she  said  to  herself,  in  reviewing  the 
evening  that  sent  her  to  her  pillow  tired  but  sleepless, 
that  Mr.  Wyllys  had  openly  preferred  her  sister's  com 
panionship  to  hers ;  that  he  had  scarcely  noticed  her 
proposal  about  the  music  in  his  desire  to  play  with  Eu 
nice.  But  she  was  conscious  of  a  discordant  jar  in  mem 
ories  that  would  else  have  been  all  brightness,  whenever 
she  reverted  to  her  repeated  efforts  to  scale  the  barriers  of 
the  strangerhood  that  ought  not  to  have  existed  between 
them  for  a  moment  after  he  heard  Roy's  story — and  the 
adroit  rebuffs  that  had  met  each  of  these. 

Eunice  had  helped  her  undress  and  seen  her  comfort 
ably  laid  in  bed,  kissed  her  affectionately,  and  prom 
ised  to  be  with  her  early  in  the  morning.  By  the 
time  the  door  was  shut,  Jessie  had  propped  her 
head  upon  her  crossed  arms,  and  lay  with  wide- 
open  eyes  gazing  through  the  unshuttered  windows 
at  the  broad,  straight  brow  of  Windbeam,  black  and 
majestic  in  the  mountain  moonlight ;  listening  to  the 
stealthy  whispers  of  the  vine-leaves  about  the  casement, 
and  living  over  the  events  of  the  day — an  exciting  one  in 
her  quiet  life.  Her  thoughts  of  Roy  were  all  of  pride- 


52  JESSAMINE. 

ful  joy.  Her  heart  was  very  tender,  very  quiet  IE  the 
glad  humility  that  possessed  her  as  she  pondered  upon 
the  fact  that  he  had  chosen  her — an  undisciplined,  un 
sophisticated  country  girl,  to  share  the  career  she  was 
nnre  would  be  noble  and  distinguished.  Something-  more 
than  usually  fond  in  Eunice's  silent  caress  at  parting  from 
her  for  the  night,  brought  up  a  host  of  reminiscences  of 
the  motherly  love  with  which  this  sister  had  guarded  and 
nurtured  her — the  youngling  of  the  household.  Such  a 
bright,  sweet  day  her  existence  had  been !  In  all  her  sky 
there  was  not  a  cloud,  save  this  light  vapor  of  discontent 
with  herself  that  the  introduction  to  Roy's  relative — the 
first  of  his  old  friends  whom  she  had  ever  met — should 
have  been  so  unsatisfactory. 

"  His  reserve  actually  increased  as  the  hours  went  on," 
she  reflected.  "  His  manner  was  more  free  and  cordial 
while  I  was  telling  him  the  story  of  old  Da  vie  Dundee 
than  after  Roy  had  explained  to  him  what  we  are  to  one 
another.  Perhaps  he  thinks  an  engaged  young  lady 
should  be  demure  and  dutiful,  having  no  eyes  or  ears  for 
any  one  except  her  betrothed.  Perhaps  it  is  as  Roy  says, 
and  he  f  ears  to  intrude  upon  our  tete-d-tetes.  I  must  con 
vince  him  that  we  are  not  so  selfish.  Roy  declares  that 
his  cousin  approves  heartily  of  our  engagement — that  he 
said  many  pleasant  things  of  me,  else  I  should  fear  that 
he  had  taken  a  dislike  to  me,  from  the  beginning,  that 
he  thought  Professor  Fordham  might  and  ought  to  have 
done  better.  I  must  make  him  like  him  for  myself — not 
merely  because  I  am  his  kinsman's  choice." 

From  which  soliloquy  the  reader  will  perceive  that 
Mr.  Wyllys  had  led  off  with  a  winning  card. 


CHAPTER  IY. 

WEEK  had  passed  since  the  Dundee  Centennial, 
\l  and  life  in  the  parsonage  had  been  in  outward  as 
pect  like  the  weather — still  and  sunny.  The  old 
est  Duiideeian  had  never  known  before  so  early 
and  genial  a  season.  Eunice's  roses  were  in  lux 
u riant  bloom ;  the  clover-meadows  were  pink  and  f ra 
grant ;  the  forests  had  burst  into  full  leafage ;  the  etraw 
berries  upon  the  southern  terrace  of  the  kitchen-garden 
were  swelling  globes,  white  on  the  nether,  scarlet  upon 
the  upper  sides. 

The  ways  of  the  household,  always  simple  and  method 
ical,  were  not  otherwise  now.  Roy  spent  a  couple  of 
hours  each  forenoon  with  his  betrothed.  Orrin  rarely 
made  his  appearance  until  two  or  three  hours  after  din 
ner  when  the  cousins  came  up  from  the  hotel  together, 
and  did  not  return  to  their  lodgings  before  ten  o'clock  at 
night.  Mi%.  Kirke  liad  daily  interviews  with  Mr.  Wyllys 
in  the  course  of  the  walks  and  drives  they  took  in  com- 


54  JESSAMINE. 

pany,  and  brought  home  accounts  of  his  suavity,  wit,  and 
varied  information,  which  were  endorsed  by  Eunice,  which 
Jessie  heard  with  growing  bewilderment  at  the  chance  01 
purpose  that  withheld  her  from  participation  in  what  was 
freely  enjoyed  by  her  father  and  sister.  Even  their 
music  practice  had  not  melted  the  ice  that  lay,  an  impas 
sive  mass,  just  beneath  the  surface  of  his  deportment 
whenever  he  approached  or  addressed  her.  Her  liveliest 
sallies  and  most  friendly  overtures,  met  with  a  response, 
ready  and  civil,  indeed,  but  so  unlike  the  gen  tie  courtesy, 
the  kindliness  and  graceful  deference  of  his  behavior  to 
Eunice  that  nothing  but  a  spirit  determined  and  unsuspi 
cious  of  evil  as  was  our  heroine's  could  have  kept  her  to 
her  resolve  to  win  his  friendship. 

Roy  found  her  veiy  charming  under  the  light  veil  of 
pensiveness  this  secret  solicitude  cast  over  her.  She 
never  intimated  to  him  that  his  kinsman  had  not  met  her 
expectation  in  every  respect.  She  was  thankful,  instead, 
that  her  betrothed  did  not  see  for  himself  that  all  was  not 
right  between  them.  Some  day,  when  the  frost  wa? 
quite  dispelled,  they  would  laugh  over  it  together — uvei 
her  fears,  her  innocent  stratagems  for  the  accomplishment 
of  her  object,  Orriii's  stateliness,  and  Roy's  blindness  to 
her  perturbation.  She  had  patience  and  hope.  She 
would  await  the  vanishment  of  the  mist,  passing  content, 
meanwhile,  with  the  heart-riches  that  were  hers  beyond  per- 
ad venture.  She  had  not  heard  of  the  German  University 
Bcheme.  It  was  unlike  Roy  Fordham  to  hang  back  from 
making  a  revelation  which  must  come  in  the  end,  which 
delays  could  not  soften,  and  which  could  cause  no  more 
distress  now  than  if  it  were  withheld  until  the  close  of 
bis  vacation.  His  judgment  said  that  Jessie  would 


JESSAMINE.  55 

better  endnre  the  prospect  of  the  separation  while  lie 
was  with  her,  to  lead  her  thoughts  to  the  great  and  man 
ifest  advantages  that  would  accrue  to  him  from  the  year 
of  foreign  study,  and — overleaping  the  gulf  of  absence — • 
to  paint  the  delight  of  re-union.  Mr.  Kirke  represented 
that  Jessie  was  a  girl  of  sense  and  strength  ;  that  she 
would  be  better  pleased  to  be  confided  in,  and  consulted 
as  his  future  wife,  than  be  blinded  and  petted  as  a  child  ; 
and  Roy,  acquiescing  in  this  opinion,  still  put  off  the 
evil  hour.  Was  it  loving  consideration  for  her — or 
presentiment — that  struck  him  with  dumbness? 

The  lovers  sat  on  the  piazza,  one  afternoon,  just  after 
the  sunset  repast.  Jessie's  "  trial  effort "  had  been  made 
with  ease  that  augured  rapid  recovery,  but  she  was  for 
bidden  to  walk  without  assistance,  or  to  bear  her  whole 
weight  upon  the  injured  foot. 

"  While  I  feel  strong  enough  to  run  a  race  with  you 
down  to  the  mill,"  she  said,  pointing  to  a  venerable  build 
ing,  a  quarter  of  a  mile  distant.  "  You  can  form  no  idea 
of  the  perversity  of  the  restless  thing  that  used  to  be  a 
manageable  member,  when  I  had  leave  to  walk,  or  sit 
still  as  I  liked.  I  have  a  terrific  attack  of  the  fidgets ! " 

"  Penalty  of  insubordination — a  return  to  the  lounge 
and  oriel-window!"  smiled  Roy,  in  warning. 

"  That  would  be  no  punishment  at  all  !  When  I  am 
strong  and  active  again  I  mean  often  to  play  helpless, 
upon  that  dear  old  lounge,  to  lie  within  the  window  and 
dream.  I  love  it ! " 

Her  voice  sank  in  an  intonation  of  ineffable  tenderness 
that  went  to  Roy's  heart  in  a  pang,  not  a  thrill.  This 
evening  he  meant  to  tell  her  that  for  many  months  she 
must  sit  alone  in  what  he  had  named  their  "  betrothal- 


56  JESSAMINE. 

nook ;  "  that  the  year  they  had  agreed  upon  as  the  period 
of  their  engagement  must  be  passed  apart,  the  one  from 
the  other.  He  had  made  np  his  mind  to  another  thing. 
If  she  asked  the  sacritice  at  his  hands,  he  would  abandon 
the  cherished  hope  of  years,  the  fruition  of  which  seemed 
now  so  near,  and  she  should  never  guess  the  extent  of  his 
self-denial.  She  was  so  dear  to  him  !  this  incarnation  of 
frolic,  passion,  and  of  fancies — gay,  graceful,  as  whim 
sical  as  various — but  all  beautiful  to  him  ;  she,  whose 
eyes  deepened  and  softened  and  glowed  with  the  tender 
cadence  of  those  three  words — "  I  love  it ! "  lie  had 
never  succeeded  in  telling  Orrin  why  he  loved  her.  His 
spoken  analysis  of  her  character  was  cold  and  imperfect. 
Had  Orrin  uttered  aloud  his  unflattering, "  pert  Amaryllis," 
Roy  would  have  resented  the  epithet  warmly,  yet  ac 
knowledged,  secretly,  that  his  own  portrait  of  her  was 
hardly  more  like  the  reality,  lie  could  not  describe  her 
trait  by  trait,  feature  by  feature.  But  for  himself,  he 
knew  that  she  was  the  embodied  glory  of  his  life  ;  that 
every  ray  that  kept  his  heart  warm  and  bright  with  a 
very  summer  of  gladness,  could  be  traced  to  her, — her 
love,  and  the  influence  the  consciousness  of  this  had  upon 
his  thoughts  of  the  present,  and  dreams  of  days  to  come. 
"  The  oriel  is  enchanted  ground  to  me.  We  will  build 
one  like  it,  in  our  own  home,  and  cover  it  with  jessamine 
and  wisteria,"  he  said,  noting,  with  loving  amusement,  the 
crimson  flush  that  always  bathed  her  face  at  direct  allu 
sions  to  their  marriage.  "  Orrin  shall  sketch  it  for  me. 
He  is  a  universal  genius,  and  his  taste  is  marvellous. 
His  bachelor  apartments  are  a  notable  exception  to  any 
others  I  ever  saw.  They  are  furnished  almost  as  well, 
kept  almost  as  neatly,  as  if  he  were  married." 


JESSAMINE.  57 

"  Isn't  he  a  bit  of  a  S}Tbarite  ? "  queried  Jessie,  ab 
ruptly.  "  If  he  has  a  fault — or,  no !  you  wouldn't  own 
that  he  has — but,  isn't  his  foible  a  love  of  luxury — of 
comfort,  if  you  prefer  to  call  it  so — bodily  and  mental  ? " 

"  He  is  certainly  not  indolent.  I  know  no  other  man 
who  will  work  more  persistently,  although  quietl}',  to  gain 
a  coveted  end.  And  if  he  loves  the  ease  of  the  flesh, 
why  so  do  we  all — don't  we?  His  philosophy  teaches 
that  it  is  folly  for  one  to  be  miserable,  when  he  can  as 
readily  be  happy  and  comfortable.  His  has  been  a  pros 
perous  life,  thus  far.  He  has  known  little  of  sorrow  or 
trial.  Should  these  come,  they  will  ripen,  not  sour  him, 
for  the  original  material  is  good.  I  am  the  more  anxiouf 
that  you  should  know  and  appreciate  him  because — 

The  gate  swung  open  to  admit  a  visitor — a  farmer's 
lad,  in  whose  attempts  at  self-education  the  young  pro 
fessor  took  a  lively  interest. 

"I  found  this  in  the  field  on  the  other  side  of  the 
mountain,  to-day,"  he  said,  laying  a  piece  of  stone  in  Mr. 
Fordham's  hand.  "  I  think  there's  ore  in  it." 

Roy  inspected  it  closely. 

"Miss  Jessie" — he  gave  her  no  more  familiar  address 
in  the  hearing  of  common  acquaintances — "  is  your 
father  in  his  study  ? " 

"  I  believe  so,"  she  replied,  eyeing  the  intruder  less 
amiably  than  her  lover  had  done,  in  the  anticipation  of 
the  prolonged  interruption. 

"  Mr.  Kirke  has  an  acid  that  will  test  this  in  a  few  min 
utes,"  continued  Fordham  to  the  boy.  "  Will  you  excuse 
me  for  a  little  while?"  turning  to  Jessie  with  a  smile 
loving  for  herself,  and  entreating  her  forbearance  for  his 
prote'gt. 


58  JESSAMINE. 

Her  ill-humor  vanished  instantly  under  the  benignant 
ray. 

"  Certainly !  "  she  replied,  nodding  cordially  to  the 
bashful  lad.  "  He  is  the  noblest  man  GOD  ever  made  !  " 
she  said  aloud,  when  she  was  alone. 

She  leaned  back  in  her  easy  chair,  her  hands  folded  in 
blissful  contentment,  enjoying  the  breeze  from  the  inoun 
tains,  the  sunset  clouds,  the  incense  from  the  flower 
garden,  and  the  hum  of  the  mill-wheel,  mentally  recapit 
ulating  her  hero's  perfections,  until  her  heart  ached  with 
happy  sighs,  and  she  saw  the  landscape  through  an  irides 
cent  haze. 

"  I  am  a  baby !  "  was  her  indignant  ejaculation,  as  she 
cleared  her  eyes  with  an  impatient  brush  of  her  hand.  "  I 
grow  more  ridiculous  every  day  ! '' 

As  a  means  of  growing  wiser,  she  fell  to  watching  her 
sister  and  Orrin  Wyllys,  who  were  busy  tying  up  wan 
dering  rose-bushes  in  Eunice's  pet  labyrinth.  Mr.  Wyllys 
had  his  back  to  Jessie,  when  she  first  observed  them.  lie 
was  fastening  back  a  branch  which  Miss  Kirke  held  in  its 
place,  and  their  hands  were  very  close  together.  It  may 
have  been  this  circumstance,  it  may  have  been  the  heat  of 
the  day,  or  the  reflection  of  a  bunch  of  pink  moss-roses 
overhead — it  could  hardly  have  been  anything  which  her 
companion  was  saying  which  brought  the  delicate  roseate 
flush  to  the  face  usually  pale  and  calm.  His  attitude  was 
far  too  dignified  and  respectful  to  hint  the  possibility  of 
gallant  badinage  on  his  part.  Bona-fde  love-making 
was,  of  course,  out  of  the  question,  since  they. had  not 
known  each  other  ten  days. 

"Euna  is  handsome!  "  mused  her  sister  in  complacent 
affection.  "  What  a  high-bred  face  and  bearing  she  has  1 


JESSAMINE.  59 

She  look*  the  lady  in  her  morning-gowns  of  print  and 
dimity ;  but  that  lawn  with  the  forget-me-not  sprig  be 
comes  her  rarely.  I  am  glad  I  insisted  upon  her  putting 
it  on.  But  she  wouldn't  let  me  fasten  the  lilies-of-the- 
valley  in  her  hair!  Her  only  fault  is  a  tendency  to  prim 
ness.  She  and  Mr.  Wyllys  get  on  admirably  together. 
lie  evidently  admires  her,  and  it  is  a  treat  to  her  to  have 
the  society  of  a  cultivated  gentleman.  I  know,"  smiling 
and  blushing  anew,  "  it  is  a  salvo  to  my  conscience  to  see 
them  satisfied  with  each  other's  company,  needing  Hoy 
and  myself  as  little  as  we  need  them.  I  should  else 
l/lame  myself  for  our  seeming  selfishness." 

Karnbling  on  discursively,  she  struck  upon  an  idea,  too 
fraught  with  delightsome  mischief  not  to  urge  her  to  im 
mediate  action.  Eunice  had  turned  her  head  away,  and 
Orrin  was  concealed  by  a  tall  shrub.  The  grassy  alley 
leading  from  the  porch  to  where  they  were  standing 
would  not  give  back  the  sound  of  footsteps.  How  fright 
ened  and  amazed  the  careful  elder  sister  would  be,  if  she 
were  to  steal  down  the  walk  and  present  herself  before 
her  !  How  solemnly  Orrin  would  look  on  while  she  sub 
mitted  to  be  lectured  for  her  imprudence,  and  Ijpw  she, 
in  the  end  would  triumph  over  her  custodians,  Roy  in 
cluded  (who,  by  the  way,  was  staying  away  an  unconscion 
able  time),  when  she  should  demonstrate  that  she  knew 
better  than  they  what  she  could  do  and  bear;  that  she 
was  none  the  worse  for  the  escapade  that  had  wrought 
their  consternation.  She  only  regretted  that  she  imiKt 
lose  the  sight  of  lioy's  horrified  visage  when  he  should 
return  to  discover  her  flight. 

Her  eyes  gleaming  with  mirth,  she  arose  cautiously, 
favoring  the  unused  joint,  and  stepped  off  the  low  piazza. 


60  JESSAMINE. 

Even  when  she  felt  the  cool,  delicious  turf  under  foot,  she 
steadied  herself  by  grasping  the  nearest  objects  that  of 
fered  a  support.  First  it  was  a  clump  of  box,  then  the 
Btont  prickly  branches  of  a  Japan  apple-tree,  then  a  fan- 
shaped  trellis,  which  would  by  and  by  be  covered  with 
Cyprus  vines.  She  would  do  nothing  rashly — would 
come  to  her  own  by  degrees.  But  when  another  step 
would  bring  her  within  arms'  length  of  the  florists,  she 
trod  firmly  upon  both  feet,  and  feeling  neither  pain  nor 
weakness,  laughed  aloud  in  wicked  glee,  and  took  that 
step.  She  saw  Eunice  start  and  grow  white;  saw  Orrin's 
grave  yet  courtly  surprise  as  lie  advanced  to  offer  his  arm. 
Ere  he  could  reach  her,  the  treacherous  ankle  gave  way 
with  a  wrench  that  drove  breath  and  sense  in  one  quick 
shuddering  breath  from  her  body. 

As  they  left  her,  she  heard,  like  a  strain  of  far-off 
music,  a  voice  say  in  her  ear,  "  My  poor  child  ! "  had  a 
dizzy  thought  that  strong  arms — stronger  than  Eunice's 
— received  her. 

Then,  all  was  a  blank  until  she  awoke  upon  her  lounge, 
hair  and  face  dripping  with  wet ;  the  scent  of  sal  volatile 
tingling  in  her  nostrils,  and  a  cluster  of  anxious  faces 
about  her.  Eunice's  was  the  first  she  knew,  Roy's  next. 
lie  was  on  his  knees  by  her,  chafing  her  hands.  She 
pulled  them  feebly  from  his  hold,  and  clasped  them  about 
his  neck,  hiding  her  eyes  upon  his  bosom. 

"  O,  Roy!  I  was  very  wrong!  very  foolish!  Don't 
scold  me." 

"JInsh!  hush!"  he  said,  soothingly.  "Nobody  thinks 
of  scolding  you !  If  you  apologize  to  any  one,  it  must  be 
to  this  gentleman.  He  brought  you  into  the  house,  and 


JESSAMINE.  61 

I  suspect  his  arms  want  looking  aft€,T  move  than  your  foot 
does." 

He  laughed,  not  quite  steadily,  in  saying  it,  and  Jessie 
felt  his  fingers  tighten  upon  hers.  She  flushed  up  rosily 
— was  herself  again,  as  she  looked  around  for  Orrin.  lie 
was  in  the  rear  of  the  family  party,  as  was  seemly,  but 
his  eyes  were  bent  upon  her  with  a  singular  fixedness — 
the  irids  closing  in  upon  a  spark  that  flashed  and  pierced 
like  steel.  Involuntarily,  she  shut  hers,  for  a  second,  as 
if  blinded. 

Tie  came  forward  at  that. 

"  Don't  believe  him  !  "  said  the  same  voice  that  had 
sent  its  echo  through  her  swoon.  "  I  am  none  the  worse 
for  the  slight  exertion.  I  consider  myself  very  fortunate 
in  having  been  near  enough  to  help  you,  when  you  fainted 
• — am  very  thankful  that  you  are  better.  Come  with  me, 
Roy  !  Here  is  the  doctor !  If  he  scolds  yon,  Miss  Jessie, 
please  consider  me  your  champion." 

The  doctor,  being  an  old  friend,  did  scold  the  "  mad 
cap,"  who  had,  he  for  a  while  averred,  undone  his  and 
Nature's  fortnight's  work.  Relenting,  iiually,  at  Jessie's 
pretty  show  of  penitence,  he  confessed  that  less  harm  had 
been  done  than  he  had  expected,  and  contented  himself 
with  sentencing  the  delinquent  to  two  days' strict  confine 
ment  to  the  sofa,  and  "  serious  meditation  upon  what 
might  have  been  the  result  of  her  imprudence — her 
reckless  step." 

"My  misstep,  you  mean,"  said  the  incorrigible  patient. 
"  If  I  had  not  lain  here  so  long  already  as  to  forget 
how  to  walk  straightly  and  squarely,  and  to  maintain  the 
centre  of  gravity,  this  would  not  have  happened." 

Altogether,  the  evening  was  gayer  than  usual  to  all 


62  JESSAMINE. 

Jessicas  spirits  were  exuberant  to  a  degree  her  sister 
feared  was  hysterical,  and  Orrin  seconded  her  sallies 
with  a  quieter  humor,  that  amused  the  rest  and  enchanted 
her. 

"  It  was  worth  my  while  to  faint !  "  she  owned  to  him 
sotto  voce,  when  he  came  up  to  say  "  Good-night."  "  1 
wish  I  had  done  it  before  1 " 

Her  cheeks  were  red  with  excitement ;  her  eyea 
laughed  up  into  his  with  arch  meaning  that  was  very 
bewitching  and  very  indiscreet.  His  pupils  contracted 
suddenly  to  the  blue  spark,  and  his  left  palm  covered 
the  little  hand  he  held  within  his  right. 

"You  are  very  kind  ! "  was  all  he  said  with  his  lips. 

"  What  treason  are  you  two  whispering  there  ?  "  ques 
tioned  Roy. 

"  Nothing  that  concerns  you  in  the  least !  "  answered 
Jessie,  saucily.  "  We  will  keep  our  own  counsel — won't 
we?"  to  Orrin. 

He  was  too  sensible  to  lie  awake  thinking,  at  an  hour 
when  people  with  accommodating  consciences  and  gutta- 
percha  hearts  are  wont  to  sleep  soundly.  Nor  had  he 
ever  contracted  the  unsafe  and  irrational  habit  of  talking 
audibly  to  himself — one  to  which  poor  Jessie  was  ad 
dicted.  Yet  he  had  his  thoughts  as  he  put  out  the 
candle  in  his  bedroom  that  night. 

"  She  is  either  a  born  flirt,  and  over-anxious  to  practise 
her  calling,  or  she  is  the  most  charming,  because  most 
novel  compound  of  naivete,  cleverness,  and  feeling  that 
has  crossed  my  path  for  many  a  day.  In  either  case,  she 
is  a  study." 

The  best  and  the  worst  women  were  with  him  resolved 
into  that — studies,  all, — and  when  they  had  fed  hia 


JESSAMINE.  63 

vanity  and  ministered  to  his  individual  gratification, 
they  were  laid  aside  for  other  specimens.  As  the  dis- 
secter  of  men's  bodies  soon  loses  his  reverence  for  what 
ever  of  divinity  the  common  mind  may  discern  in  the 
human  form;  as  the  anemone  and  the  nettle  are  to  the 
botanist  but  different  combinations  of  stamen,  pistil,  and 
petal, — so  your  professed  student  of  character,  your 
mortal  searcher  and  tryer  of  souls,  merges  heart  into 
head  in  the  practice  of  his  art.  Sorrow  has  no  sacred- 
ness  ;  Love  no  warning  purity  ;  Pain  no  appeal  to  him. 
Sensibilities  are  interesting  only  as  they  quiver  and 
shrink  beneath  his  touch;  Affection  is  his  plaything; 
blasted  hopes,  withered  and  wounded  hearts,  are  the  im- 
considered  debris  of  the  sacrificial  honors  done  the  ensan 
guined  Moloch  of  his  Self-love. 

It  is  the  fashion  to  call  such  ornaments  of  Society.  A 
better,  because  truer,  name,  would  be  the  Thugs  of 
Civilization, 


CHAPTER  V. 

SEPTIMUS  BAXTER  was  President  oi 
Marion  College,  situate  in  the  beautiful  town  oi 
Hamilton,  lying  two  hundred  miles  to  the  north 
ward,  and  in  another  state  than  the  mountain- 
girded  valley  of  which  the  Dundee  Church  and 
the  surrounding  village  were  the  chief  ornaments.  Dr, 
Baxter  was  the  nominal  head  of  the  faculty  of  professors, 
and  Mrs.  Septimus  Baxter  was  virtual  autocrat  of  his 
home. 

He  was  a  little  man,  physically,  at  his  best,  which  was 
when  he  was  in  his  own  realm — the  area  enclosed  by  the 
walls  of  his  lecture-room.  There  was,  in  popular  phrase 
"  no  fit "  to  his  clothes.  His  trousers  bagged  at  tht 
knees,  and  his  coats  hung  in  loose  folds  down  from  his 
shoulder-blades,  on  the  very  day  they  left  the  tailor'i 
shop;  were  shabby  within  twenty-four  hours.  He  had  i 
trick  of  brushing  the  nap  of  his  hat  the  wrong  way  ii 
his  abstracted  moods,  and  of  twisting  his  forefinger  ii 


JESSAMINE.  65 

one  bow  of  liia  white  cravat  until  he  dragged  it  into  a 
slovenly  loop,  two  crumpled  wisps  depending  from  it. 
Another  and  his  most  inveterate  habit  was,  to  tie  his 
handkerchief  into  a  succession  of  tight  knots  while  he 
lectured,  preached,  prayed,  and  talked.  Each  marked  a 
step  in  ratiocination  or  a  rise  in  interest  in  the  matter 
that  engaged  his  mind  until  the  climax  of  proof  or 
animation  was  reached,  when  he  would  begin  to  untie 
them,  one  after  the  other,  timing  the  process  so  judi 
ciously  that "  Amen ! "  or  "  Quod  erat  demonstrandum  !  " 
passed  his  lips  as  the  released  cambric  swept  through  his 
hand  in  a  flourish  prior  to  its  restoration  to  his  pocket. 
Nevertheless,  he  commanded  respect  from  students  and 
professors.  His  courage  in  grappling  with  crabbed  or 
ponderous  themes ;  the  eagle  eye  that  penetrated  the 
vapors  of  mysticism,  detected  the  insidious  thread  of 
sophistry,  which,  intertwined  with  legitimate  argument, 
was  gradually  but  fatally  guiding  the  inquirer  away 
from  the  truth ;  the  bursts  of  real  eloquence,  passages  of 
beauty  and  pathos,  that  starred  the  didacticism  of  his  dis 
courses,  electrifying  his  hearers  as  the  musical  ring  from 
the  desiccated  tortoise-shell  may  have  startled  the  god 
who  tripped  over  it — these  made  him  a  hero  to  his 
classes,  a  man  to  be  consulted  and  reverenced  by  his  co- 
laborers.  Moreover,  he  had  a  great  heart  within  his 
narrow  chest,  soft  as  a  child's,  generous  to  self-abnega 
tion,  and  full  of  such  holy  and  Christian  graces  as  love 
the  shade,  while  their  unconscious  aroma  betrays  their 
existence  to  all  who  pass. 

Mrs.  Baxter  had  been  a  belle,  and  she  would  hardly 
have  cast  a  second  glance  upon  the  small  and  shabby 
divine,  but  for  two  weighty  reasons.  By  some  unac- 


66  JESSAMINE. 

countable  freak  of  Cupid,  or  of  Fortune,  the.  popular  Miss 
Lanneau  had  counted  her  thirtieth  year  without  exchanging 
her  celibate  state  for  that  which  she  lansruisbingly  avowed 

O  o    «/ 

would  be  preferable  to  one  of  her  dependent  nature  and 
seeking  sensibilities.  She  laughed  jet  with  her  lips  and 
executed  arch  manoeuvres  with  her  speaking  eyes,  when 
unfeeling  allusion  was  made  in  her  presence  to  the 
"  crooked  stick  "  that  awaits  the  over-nice  fagot  gatherer, 
and  to  the  forlorn  and  aged  virgin,  also  a  wanderer  in 
woodlands,  who  answered  the  owl's  "  To-who  ?"  all  the 
freezing  night  with  the  despairing — "Anybody!"  But 
at  heart  she  was  growing  restless,  if  not  unhappy,  when 
Dr.  Baxter  fell  in  her  way.  She  was  a  litterateur,  as 
well  as  a  beauty,  and  her  re  orend  suitor  was  a  man  of  note 
— a  distinguished  clergyman,  a  savant  and  senior  profes 
sor  in  a  highly  respectable  institution  of  learning.  She 
had  longed  for  a  "  career"  all  her  life — for  a  sphere  of 
decided  influence — social  and  literary.  Would  a  more 
promising  avenue  to  this  ever  be  offered  her?  She  over 
looked  the  ill-fitting  coat,  the  dragged  cravat,  the  inevi 
table  handkerchief.  As  she  put  it,  she  "  set  the  subjective 
where  it  should  always  be  placed — above  the  grosser  ob 
jective."  In  direct  English  she  married  the  doctor,  and 
had  for  fifteen  years  made  him  an  excellent  wife.  If  his 
testimony  were  of  importance  in  this  case — and  he  was  a 
sturdy  truth-teller — he  wanted  no  better. 

I  have  said  that  he  was  a  little  man  at  his  best.  lie  was  a 
pygmy  on  a  certain  evening  in  the  November  succeeding 
the  Dundee  Centennial  summer.  To  begin  with  the 
most  severe  of  the  dwarfing  processes  to  which  he  had  i 
been  subjected.  It  was  a  reception  night  in  the  presiden 
tial  mansion.  Mrs.  Baxter  had  given  a  party  the  previ- 


JESSAMINE,  67 

ous  week,  and  now  sat  in  state,  as  was  the  Hamiltonian 
usage,  to  receive  the  calls  demanded  from  those  who  had 
been  the  invitees  on  that  occasion.  The  ceremony  in  its 
mildest  form  would  have  been  purgatorial  to  her  spouse, 
but  she  had  aggravated  the  torture  by  personally  superin 
tending  his  toilette.  This  accomplished,  she  entreated 
him  if  he  had  one  atom  of  regard  for  her,  to  leave  neck 
tie  and  handkerchief  alone  for  that  night ;  walked  him 
into  the  parlor,  and  inducted  him  into  an  immense  easy 
chair  directly  beneath  a  bracket-light ;  thrust  an  iHumin- 
ated  folio — one  of  her  centre-table  ornaments — between  his 
fingers,  and  withdrew  to  her  own  chair  a  little  way  off,  to 
examine  the  effect. 

"  You  are  really  picturesque,  my  love  !  "  she  decided,  in 
honeyed  patronage.  "  If  yon  can  only  remember  to  sit 
upright  instead  of  slipping  down  in  the  lap  of  your  chair 
until  your  coat-collar  shows  above  the  back  of  your  neck, 
you  will  make  a  fine  study  for  a  sketch  of  'Learned 
Leisure,'  or  something  of  that  kind." 

The  poor  man  smiled  resignedly,  and  began  to  turn  the 
leaves  of  his  book.  It  was  a  sacred  album,  the  work  of 
jhis  wife's  fair  fingers,  although  he  did  not  know  this. 

"  I  flatter  myself  you  will  find  some  choice  bits  there  ? " 
jelie  said,  modestly. 

She  was  fond  of  talking  about  "  bits,"  and  "  effects," 
iand  "  tone,"  and  "  depth ;  "  of  "  chiaro-oscuro"  and 
i"  bas-reliefs,"  and  "  intaglios,"  and  "  antiques," — useful 
leant  that  forms  the  stock-in-trade  of  many  an  art-critic, 
iwhose  decrees  pass  current  with  a  larger  circle  than  the 
clique  which  eulogized  Mrs.  Baxter's  talents.  iShe  was, 
in  feature  and  coloring,  a  pretty  woman  still,  in  defiance 
of  her  forty-five  or  forty-six  years.  Her  brown  eyes  were 


68  JESSAMINE. 

lively ;  the  red  of  her  complexion,  if  a  trifle  fixed  aw 
hard,  seldom  outspreading  the  distinctly  defined  roun^ 
spots  upon  the  cheek-bones,  was  hers  honestly,  as  wen 
the  glossy  curls  that  showed  no  frost-lines,  and  the  pearl] 
teeth  she  had  trained  her  lips  to  reveal  at  every  possibll 
opportunity.  Her  hands  were  plump,  white,  and  small 
and  would  have  been  smaller  had  she  exercised  them  less 
Like  the  teeth,  they  were  too  obtrusive.  She  could  110 
say  "  Good-day"  to  a  passing  acquaintance  without  part 
ing  her  lips  in  a  wide  smile  over  the  milk-white  treasures 
tucking  away  their  natural  covering  in  an  incredibl 
narrow  fold  above  the  ivory,  and  stretching  it  below  int< 
a  straight  line  which  lost  itself  in  creases  that  had  onc< 
been  dimples.  She  had  been  renowned  in  her  youth  foi 
her  vivacity,  and  had  cultivated  it  into  what  nobody  wai 
kind  enough  to  tell  her  was  frisky  affectation.  The  ex 
tent  to  which  the  pliant  fingers  curved,  and  twined,  anc 
twinkled,  and  sprawled,  in  the  course  of  a  conversatioi 
of  moderate  length,  was  a  thing  of  wonder  forever  to  th< 
uninitiated  spectator  of  her  gambols.  She  added  to  thii 
gesticulation  a  way  of  plunging  forward  from  her  girdl< 
upward,  when  she  waxed  very  animated,  that  threatened 
to  precipitate  her  into  the  lap  of  her  fellow-colloquist 
after  which  she  would  lay  her  hand  upon  her  heaviu| 
bust,  and  swallow  audibty,  while  awaiting  a  reply  to  he] 
latest  deliverance.  To  sum  up  description  in  one  word-* 
Mrs.  Baxter's  speciality  was  Manner. 

Her  friends  were  correct  in  one  laudation.  She  waf 
amiable  and  kind-hearted  in  her  way,  as  her  husband  wai 
in  his.  If  she  trafficked  upon  this  excellence,  made  tlu 
most  of  it,  very  much  after  the  style  in  which  she  showe^ 
off  her  teeth  and  hands,  it  was  rather  because  displaj 


JESSAMINE.  69 

,vas  lier  controlling  foible,  than  through  any  design  upon 
he  answering  gratitude  of  her  beneficiaries.  She  was 
Iressed  in  black  silk,  with  a  jaunty  velvet  basquine,  a 
icarlet  scarf  of  Canton  crepe  fastened  upon  the  right 
ihonlder  with  an  antique  cameo,  and  knotted  under 
he  left,  the  fringed  ends  falling  low  down  upon  her 
,kirt. 

She  was  just  established  in  her  comfortable  causeuse, 
vhen  the  door-bell  heralded  a  visitor. 

"  My  dear  Mr.  "Wyllys  !  "  she  cried,  fluttering  forward 
o  meet  him.  "  You  are  doubly  welcome  when  you  come 
ilone.  One  sees  you  so  seldom  except  in  a  crowd,  that  it 
s  a  genuine  pleasure  to  have  a  few  moments'  quiet  con- 
•ersation  with  you." 

"  It  is  like  yourself  to  excuse  my  unfashionably  early 
:all  with  such  gracious  tact,"  responded  the  gentleman, 
)owing  low  over  her  hand. 

He  shook  hands  with  the  doctor  with  less  empresse- 
nent,  but  most  respectfully,  and  sank  upon  a  divan  near 
he  hostess. 

"  I  have  another  engagement  this  evening,  but  I  could 
lot  deny  myself  the  pleasure  of  paying  my  devoirs  to 
rou  in  passing.  I  will  not  ask  if  you  have  recovered 
'rom  the  fatigue  of  Thursday  night  "—with  an  expressive 
ook  at  her  blooming  face.  "  I  believe,  however,  it  is 
lever  a  weariness  to  you  to  be  agreeable,  as  it  is  to  us 
luller  and  less  benevolent  mortals.  I  am  horribly  cross, 
ilways,  on  the  morning  succeeding  a  party.  It  is  as  if  I 
md  overdrawn  my  account,  in  the  matter  of  social  enter- 
ainment ;  borrowed  too  heavily  from  the  reserve  fin  id 
n tended  by  Nature  for  daily  expenses.  But  this  rule 
ipplies  only  to  people  whose  resources  of  spirits,  wit,  and 


70  JESSAMINE. 

general  powers  of  pleasing,  are  limited.  You  are  above 
the  need  of  such,  pitiful  economy  as  we  find  neces 
sary." 

"  Shall  I  undeceive  you  ?  "  beamed  the  lady.  "  If  ths 
doctor — dear,  patient  martyr  ! — were  put  in  to  the  witness! 
box,  he  might  tell  sad  tales,  make  divulgations  thatwonla 
demolish  your  pretty  and  flattering  theory.  Doctor,  my] 
love !  Mr.  \Vyllys  is  anxious  to  know  what  was  the 
status  of  my  spiritual  and  mental  thermometer,  on  thej 
morning  after  our  little  re-union,  last  week  ?  " 

"  Eh,  what  did  you  say,  my  dear  ? " 

He  lowered  his  folio.  His  eyebrows  were  perked  dis 
contentedly,  and  his  forefinger  was  in  the  doomed  bow] 
she  had  tied  not  fifteen  minutes  before. 

Mrs.  Baxter  tried,  unsuccessfully,  to  frown  down  the 
offending  digit  before  she  made  reply. 

"  Mr.  Wyllys  has  heard  that  I  am  like  champagne,! 
'  stale,  flat,  and  unprofitable ' — with  a  dash  of  vinegar—] 
when  the  effervescence  wrought  by  social  excitement  isi 
off,"  vivified,  by  her  mirthful  misrepresentation  of  hen 
visitor's  words,  into  radiance  that  revealed  every  molarJ 
and  forced  her  eyelids  into  xitter  retirement. 

"  Ah  !  "  The  doctor  smiled  absently,  and  re-bent  hid 
brows  over  the  page,  protruding  his  lips  in  a  vicious 
pout  as  he  read. 

u  He  disdains  to  notice  the  slander,"  resumed  Mrs^' 
Baxter,  unabashed  at  her  failure  to  elicit  a  conjugal 
compliment  "  Seriously,  Mr.  Wyllys,  I  am  thankful, 
for  the  guidance  of  reason  and  will  that  counterbalance 
my  mercurial  temperament.  My  spirit  lesembles  nothing 
else  so  much  as  a  mettled  steed,  whose  eurvettings  ard 

7  o 

restrained    by  an   inexorable  rein.     But  for  my  sobe# 


JESSAMINE.  71 

judgment,  Impulse  would  have  led  me  into  an  erratic 
course,  I  fear." 

Relaxing  the  tension  of  the  fingers  and  wrist  that  had 
pulled  hard  at  an  imaginary  curb,  and  unclenching  the 
teeth  from  their  bite  upon  the  word  "  inexorable,"  she 
sighed,  reflectively. 

ij  )  */ 

"  The  combination  is  rare — "  commenced  the  gentle 
man. 

"  It  is  preposterous ! "  ejaculated  the  doctor,  closing 
the  Russian-leather  album  with  a  concussion  like  the  re 
port  of  a  pocket-pistol. 

"  I  think  not,  dear,"  said  the  wife,  gently  corrective. 
"It  is,  as  Mr.  Wyllys  says,  a  rare  combination,  but  cer 
tainly  not  an  impossible  one." 

"  It  is  preposterous,"  reiterated  the  doctor,  with  a  ruin 
ous  tug  at  his  cravat,  "  that  a  rational  creature,  who  can 
read  and  write,  should  waste  time  in  disfiguring  good, 
honest  paper  with  such  incongruous,  not  to  say  blasphe 
mous,  nonsense  as  I  find  here.  It  was  bad  enough  for  me 
diaeval  monks  to  deck  the  Word  of  Life  in  the  motley 
wear  of  a  harlequin.  Greek,  German,  black-letter  text, 
are,  all  of  them,  stumbling-blocks  to  the  unlearned,  di 
versions  to  the  thoughtless.  But  when  the  sacred  Script 
ures  are  bedizened  into  further  illegibility  by  paint  and 
gilding,  and  illustrated  by  birds,  beasts,  and  even  fishes, 
daubed  upon  fields,  azure,  argent,  and  verde,  the  offence 
becomes  an  abomination.  Such  profanation  is  offered 
that  divinest  of  pastorals,  the  twenty-third  psalm,  in  this 
volume,"  elevating  it  in  strong  disgust. 

Mrs.  Baxter  arose  and  took  it  from  his  hand  in  time  to 
save  it  from  beins;  tossed  to  the  table  or  floor. 

o 

"Tastes  differ,  my  dear  husband,"  was  all  she  said, 


72  JESSAMINE. 

but  her  forbearance  and  real  sweetness  of  temper  called 
forth  a  look  of  unfeigned  respect  from  the  amused  spec 
tator. 

"  I  wouldn't  keep  it  in  the  parlor,  if  I  were  in  your 
place,  Jane,"  the  doctor  expostulated,  seeing  her  deposit 
the  folio  upon  a  stand  beyond  his  reach. 

"I  will  not  ask  you  to  look  at  it  again,  love," — still 
amiably. 

She  returned  to  the  subject  when  the  critic  had 
helped  himself  to  a  volume  which  was  more  to  his 
taste. 

"  I  saw  few  things  when  I  was  abroad,  before  my  mar 
riage,  that  interested  me  more  than  the  illuminated  mis- 

O     * 

sals  and  breviaries  preserved  in  convents,  museums,  and 
private  collections  of  vertu"  she  said  to  Mr.  "YVyllys. 
"  I  am  the  possessor  of  a  remarkably  fine  specimen  of 
the  illuminator's  art— the  gift  of  a  dear  friend  and  rela 
tive,  now  no  more.  I  had  not  looked  into  it  for  years 
until  after  I  commenced  my  humble  album,  which,  allow 
me  to  observe,  my  excellent  husband  does  not  guess  is 
my  handiwork.  To  return  " — the  hands  describing  an 
inward  curve,  and  subsiding  into  an  embrace  upon  her 
knee — "  the  best  touches  in  my  work  were  after  my  pre 
cious  reliquary.  I  must  show  it  to  you.  I  am  chary  of 
displaying  it  to  non-appreciative  or  irreverent  eyes.  Con 
sequently  it  seldom  sees  the  light." 

Orrin  followed  her  to  an  escritoire  at  the  back  of  the 
room,  peeping  covertly  at  his  watch  as  he  went.  Mrs. 
Baxter  laid  her  hand  upon  her  bust,  and  choked  down 
some  rebellious  uprising  of  memory  or  regret,  as  she  un 
locked  a  drawer. 

"  This  is  it  1  "  mournfully,  taking  out  a  thin  volume 


JESSAMINE.  73 

bound  in  gilded  leather  and  carved  boards,  and  redolent 
;>f  the  scent  of  some  Indian  wood. 

Omn  examined  it  in  pleased  surprise.  lie  had  ex 
pected  to  see  an  absurdity.  He  beheld  a  gem  of  its 
kind  ;  a  collection  of  Latin  hymns,  including  the  Stabat 
Mater,  Dies  Irre,  and  "Veni  Sancte  Spiritus,  each  page 
3D  circled  by  a  border  of  appropriate  design,  and  delicate 
yet  rich  coloring. 

"  I  have  never  seen  anything  finer.  I  do  not  wonder 
that  you  prize  it  highly.  I  thank  you  for  showing  it  to 
me,"  he  said,  sincerely.  "  By  whom  was  it  executed  ?  " 

"  My  friend  ordered  it  for  me  of  an  adept  in  his  art, 
hen  resident  at  Florence.  I  forget  his  name,  but  you 
vill  find  it  cleverly  concealed  from  the  common  eye  in 
some  one  of  the  convolutions  of  the  title-page,"  was  the 
j-eply. 

The  fly-leaf  adhered  slightly  to  the  page  designated, 
|md  Orrin  read  the  inscription  upon  the  former  before 
Jetaching  it. 

"  '  Jane  Lanneau,  from  Ginevra.  Florence,  January 
.st,  18 — .'  I  have  surely  seen  that  handwriting  before  ! 
Ginevra!'"  he  repeated  slowly,  and  the  pretty  name 
ell  musically  from  his  tongue.  "  There  is  poetry  in  the 
frord  ! " 

"  You  would  have  said  so,  had  you  known  her !  "  Mrs. 
Baxter  winked  away  two  unbidden  tears  that  glazed  her 
yes,  without  forming  and  dropping — swallowed  anew 
nd  very  hard.  "  She  always  reminded  me  of  a  plaintive 
ioem  set  to  music.  That  is,  in  the  later  years  of  an  exist- 
nce  which  was  all  song  and  sunniness  when  it  was  fresh 
nd  new." 
Orrin  fluttered  a  few  leaves ;  commented  upon  the 


74  JESSAMINE. 

grace  and  finish  of  a  decoration  here  and  there,  and  we  tit 
back  to  the  inscription.  It  \vas  strongly  like  Jessie 
Kirke's  writing,  but  the  resemblance  was  undoubtedly 
accidental.  The  one  line  had  been  penned,  he  learned 
from  the  date,  before  she  was  born. 

"  She  was  the  Helena  to  my  Ilermia,"  pursued  the 
hostess.  "We  lived  the  same  life  until  her  marriage, 
which  preceded  mine  by  five  years.  She  was  my  senior 
by  some  months,  but  in  heart  and  soul  we  were  twins  !  " 
—pressing  her  hands  gradually  together,  beginning  at  the 
wrists,  and  passing  upward  to  the  finger-tips,  to  express 
the  idea  of  oneness.  "  And  by  a  most  extra-o/'-di-naiy 
coincidence,  we  both  married  clergymen  !  " 

"  Another  evidence  of  the  perfect  harmony  of  soul  ex 
isting  between  you.  Did  I  understand  you  to  say  that 
she  is  not  living?" 

"  Alas !  she  has  been  in  her  crave  for  fifteen  years.     1 

o  f 

never  saw  her  after  her  marriage,  which  was  a  surprise  to 
all  her  friends.  We  anticipated  a  brilliant  union  for  her. 
But  she  bestowed  herself,  her  talents,  her  beauty,  upon  a 
clerical  widower  who  was  twelve  years  older  than  herself.! 
My  poor  Ginevra !  it  was  a  strange  ending  to  her  san 
guine  dreams.  Mr.  Kirke  was  a  scholarly  man,  it  is  true, 
and  a  thorough  gentleman,  and  of  his  devotion  to  her 
there  could  be  no  doubt.  It  was  such  worship  as  few; 
women  can  inspire.  I  believe  that  he  tried  faithfully  to 
make  her  happy,  but  my  personal  acquaintanceship  with 
him  was  very  slight." 

"Kirke!"  repeated  Orrin,  more  deliberately  and  witlii 
less  emphasis  than  wras  his  wont,  and  he  was  always  the  jj 
reverse  of  abrupt.  His  la£y  articulation  now  was  almost-; 
a  drawl.  "1  know  a  gentleman— a  clergyman  of  thatl 


JESSAMINE.  75 

name — Rev.  Donald  L.  Kirke,  resident,  now,  and  I  fancy 
for  many  years,  at  Dundee — " 

"It  is  the  very  same!"  Mrs.  Baxter  started  tragically, 
and  leaned  gaspingly  toward  him,  her  throat  swelling  like 
a  pouter  pigeon's.  "  And  you  know  him,  you  say  ?  Tell 
me  something  about  him — about  his  family  1  My  sweet 
cousin  left  a  child,  I  know.  Does  it  still  live  ?  Dundee! 
yes !  that  was  the  quaint  Scotch  name  of  my  Ginevra's 
new  home.  I  have  always  associated  it  with  '  The  Cot 
ter's  Saturday  Night.'  You  recollect  '  Dundee's  wild, 
warbling  measures '  ?  Do  sit  down  and  tell  me  all ! " 

"  You  should  visit  Dundee,"  said  Orrin,  sauntering 
back  to  the  fireplace,  but  declining  the  seat  she  offered. 
"  It  is  a  beautiful  valley — sheltered  from  storms  by  a  bar 
ricade  of  picturesque  hills.  I  was  there  in  May,  and  the 
climate  and  flowers — especially  the  wealth  of  roses,  re 
minded  me  of  sunny  Provence.  I  became  quite  well  ac 
quainted  with  Mr.  Kirke.  lie  is,  as  you  describe  him,  a 
thorough  gentleman — one  of  the  genuine  '  old  school ' — 
handsome,  refined,  and  scholarly.  His  daughters,  of 
whom  chere  are  two,  are  cultivated  ladies.  The  younger 
— who  is,  I  presume,  the  child  to  whom  you  refer — is,  I 
have  heard,  very  like  her  beautiful  mother.  You  would 
be  interested  in  her,  first,  for  your  cousin's  sake,  but  very 
soon  for  her  own.  This  matter  of  family  likeness  is  a 
curious  one.  I  see  now  what  was  the  resemblance  that 
puzzled  me  last  Spring.  Miss  Jessie  Kirke  might  easily 
be  mistaken  for  your  daughter." 

"  If  she  were,  what  a  happy  woman  I  should  be ! "  cried 
the  flattered  lady,  casting  up  her  brown  eyes,  and  raising 
her  clasped  hands  to  a  level  with  her  chin.  "  The  relief 
afforded  by  your  charming  description  is  beyond  exprea* 


76  JESSAMINE. 

Bion.  I  have  never  dared  inquire  respecting  my  lost  dar 
ling's  babe.  And  she  is  really  a  Lannean !  Heaven 
bless  her !  I  feared — how  I  feared  !  to  hear  that  she  had 
grown  np  an  awkward  rustic,  whose  faint  likeness  to  her 
parent  would  pain,  not  gratify  me.  Therefore  I  have 
maintained  no  correspondence  with  Mi.  Kirke  since  our 
exchange  of  letters  immediately  after  his  wife's  decease. 
1  Jessie  Kirke ! '  what  a  riante,  piquante,  bewitching 
name ! " 

"  I  wish  you  could  prevail  upon  her  father  to  entrust 
her  to  you  for  a  time.     She  would  be  a  feature  in  our 
society  this  winter.     Her  face  and  manners  are  strikingly 
attractive,  and  hers  is  a  style  of  beauty  that  will  improve 
with  years  and  knowledge  of  the  world.     Her  bearing 
and  conversation  have  much  of  the  fascination  which  is, 
I  suspect,  a  family  gift.     She  will  grow  handsomer  until  i 
— I  cannot  say  when.     Women,  like  leaves,  have  their  i 
time  to  fade,  and  this  trying  season  lies,  with  a  large  ma- ' 
jority,  a  little  on  the  bright  side  of  thirty.     The  Lan-j 
neaus  have  not  lost  the  secret  they  brought  from  fair  France] 
—the  magic  that  purchases  the  gift  of  perennial  youth." 

"Fie!  fie!  how  you  digress!     I  am  dying  for  infor 
mation  of  my  beloved  young  cousin,  and  you  launch  into 
irrelevant  gallantries — flattery  that  is  thrown  away,  let 
me  tell  you,  upon  one  of  rny  age  and  gravity !  "  frowned! 
Mrs.  Baxter  with  her  forehead,  her  lips  openly  refractory J 
and  her  eyes  dancing  with  delight.     "  Do  sit  down  and 
tell  me  more  !  " 

"  I  cannot,  thank  you !     I  have  already  bored  yuu  with: 
a  visit  three  times  as  lon£  as  I  meant  it  should  be.     Your  i 

O 

cousin  does  the  family  credit.  I  can  award  her  no  higher 
praise.  Au  revoir  !  " 


JESSAMINE. 


77 


"One  second!  "  she  entreated,  detaining  him.  "  The 
discoveries  of  this  evening  seem  trifles  to  you.  To  me 
they  are  an  EVENT  !  1  shall  write  to  the  precious  lamb 
to-morrow.  Please  give  me  her  address  in  full." 

Orrin  dictated,  and  she  wrote  it  upon  her  ivory  tablets. 

"  Perhaps  it  would  be  as  well  not  to  mention  me  in 
connection  with  this  renewal  of  your  intercourse  with 
Mr.  Kii'ke's  family,"  he  said,  carelessly.  "  Your  friend 
ship  will  be  the  more  welcome  if  it  is  supposed  that  it 
lias  its  root  in  your  fond  recollection  of  your  lamented 
relative.  Excuse  the  suggestion — but  from  what  I  have 
seen  of  father  and  daughters,  I  am  inclined  to  think 
:hem  sensitive  and  proud — as  they  have  a  right  to  be. 
Your  tact  hardly  needed  this  hint,  however.  There  is  a 
ring !  I  have  loitered  here  shamefully  !  Do  you  know 
that  your  beautiful  drawing-room  is  likened,  about  town, 
to  Ci  rce's  cave  ? " 


CHAPTER   VL 

R.  WYLLYS  was  careful  not  to  repeat  his  visit 
within  a  week.  He  could  trust  to  the  natural 
growth  of  the  seed  he  had  sown,  and  he  was  toe 
politic  to  appear  solicitous,  on  his  own  account,  for 
the  resumption  of  cousinly  intercourse  between  tlie> 
houses  of  Baxter  and  Kirke.  He  did  not  overrate  his 
influence  with  the  would-be  leader  of  Hamilton  society. 
Four  days  after  his  party  call,  he  had  a  note  from  Jessie. 

"  DEAR  COUSIN  OKRIN  : 

"  I  enclose  a  letter  received  last  night  from  Mrs.  Baxter, 
wife  of  the  President  of  Marion  College.  She  is,  I  have* 
learned  from  this,  my  nearest  living  relative,  outside  my 
immediate  family  circle,  being  my  mother's  first  cousin. 
I  never  heard  of  her  until  the  arrival  of  this  communi 
cation.  My  father  knew  her,  years  ago,  but  did  not  r0r 
member  whom  she  had  married.  I  little  imagined  when 
1  listened  to  Roy's  praises  of  his  friend,  Dr.  Baxter,  that 


JESSAMINE.  79 

I  had  any  personal  interest  in,  or  connection  with  his 
family.  Mrs.  Baxter  writes,  you  see,  in  an  affectionate 
strain,  and  is  urgent  in  her  request  that  I  should  pass  the 
winter  with  her.  My  father  and  sister  agree  with  me 
that  you  are  the  proper  person  to  consult  with  regard  to 
juy  answer  to  the  invitation.  You  are,  doubtless,  ac 
quainted  with  Mrs.  Baxter,  and  are  certainly  more  aufait 
to  the  usages  of  Hamilton  polite  society  than  we  are. 

"  Tell  me  freely  what  you  think  I  ought  to  do — fi  eely 
as  if  I  were  in  blood,  as  1  am  in  heart, 

"  Your  Kinswoman, 

"  JESSIE  KIKKE." 

"Here  is  an  example  of  hereditary  transmission  that 
would  stagger  Wendell  Holmes  himseJf!"  thought 
Orrin,  scanning  the  epistle,  letter  by  letter.  "  The 
chirography  of  the  girl,  who  could  not  write  at  the  time 
of  her  mother's  death,  is  precisely  similar  to  hers — as 
similar  as  it  is  unlike  that  of  the  sister  by  whom  she  was 
educated.  It  is  a  nut  to  crack  for  those  who  carp  at  the 
idea  that  the  handwriting  is  a  criterion  of  character,  who 
attribute  variety  of  penmanship  to  educational  influences 
entirely.  What  has  my  fair  'kinswoman'  inherited 
from  her  matronal  progenitor  besides  her  features  and 
carriage,  and  these  sloping,  slender  Italian  characters,  I 
wonder  ?  It  may  be  worth  my  while  to  investigate  the 
question  as  a  psychological  phenomenon." 

To  secure  the  facilities  for  doing  this,  he  resolved  to 

o  / 

run  down  to  Dundee  the  next  day. 

The  early  train  he  had  condemned  in  the  spring, 
started  now  before  daylight,  and  he  called  himself  a  fool, 
as  he  took  his  place  in  the  cold,  smoky  car,  for  making 


80  JESSAMINE. 

the  journey  at  all.  Being  mortal,  he  was  liable  to  these 
spasms  of  prudence  and  faltering  of  purpose,  daring 
which  he  held  serious  questioning  with  Common-sense — 
leaving  feeling  out  of  the  discussion — whether  he  were 
not  squandering  time  and  thought  in  prosecuting  his 
favorite  pastime  of  winning  and  wasting  hearts.  lie 
knew  that,  viewed  in  the  dead  white  light  of  sober  judg 
inent,  tested  by  commercial  rates,  his  ambition  to  stand 
chief  victor  in  Cupid's  lists,  would  be  ignoble  and  unre- 
inunerative.  He  felt  that  lie  would  himself  thus  rate  it, 
li;ul  he  no  other  aim  in  life.  Aware,  as  he  was,  that  lie 
kept  step  with  his  fellows  in  business  pursuits,  that  he 
was  intellectually  the  peer  of  those  the  crowd  called 
masters,  he  did  not  let  the  thought  of  adverse  criticism 
of  his  affaires  du  cceur  weigh  too  heavily  with  him.  It 
was  easy  to  persuade  himself  that  since  the  world's  con 
querors  and  prophets,  sages,  warriors,  and  saints,  had,  each 
in  his  time,  esteemed  the  love  of  woman  the  worthiest 
meed  of  valor,  learning,  and  piety  ;  had  fought,  gone 
mad,  and  made  shipwreck  of  faith,  to  gain  and  wear  the 
prize,  leaving  upon  record  the  aspiration  "  to  waste  life 
upon  her  perfect  lips,"  alongside  of  heroic  epics  and  re 
ligious  meditations, — his  researches  and  successes  in  this 
field  of  art, — the  mining  and  delving  and  polishing  that 
attended  his  explorations  among  the  curiosities  of  woman's 
affections  and  follies — were  lawful  and  dignilied,  and 
should  entitle  him  to  an  honorable  grade  in  the  school  of 
philosophers. 

Apart  from  these  cold-blooded  considerations  (a  man 
flirt  is  always  more  cold-blooded  than  a  woman — coquetry 
and  the  desire  to  conquer  hearts  being  oftener  a  passion 
with  the  latter  than  a  deliberate  plan) — apart  from  these 


JESSAMINE.  81 

^  say,  Orrin  Wyllys  \vas,  as  he  would  hare  said  of  him- 
elf,  "  not  a  bad  fellow."  lie  liked  to  give  pleasure,  to 
>e  useful  to  his  kind,  to  be  thanked  and  praised  for  his 
>enef  actions. 

Finding  myself,  once  upon  a  time,  in  the  actual 
>resence  and  in  social  converse  with  one  of  the  brightest 
if  modern  (American)  stars — a  man  I  had  reverenced 
far  off,  as  a  mental  and  moral  monarch  among  mortals, 

was  disenchanted  and  appalled  at  hearing  him  saysome- 
bing  like  this: 

"  I  have  no  patience  with  this  talk  about  finding  one's 
ruest  happiness  in  promoting  that  of  others.  I  believe 
hat  man  is  best  employed  who  makes  the  most  and  best 
>f  HIMSELF  !  My  business  in  life  is  to  improve  Myself 
>y  every  means  at  my  command — to  make  Myself,  spiritu- 
lly  and  intellectually,  'round  and  perfect  as  a  star,' 
without  diverting  my  energies  and  wasting  my  sympa- 
hies  with  projects  for  the  good  of  my  race.  This  is  my 
dea  of  true  philanthropy." 

"  And  the  rest  of  mankind  may  go  hang  !  "  said  a  plain- 
poken  auditor. 

The  Star  shrugged  his  broad  shoulders. 

"  Ce  rfcst  pas  mon  affaire  !  " 

This  was,  substantially,  Orrin's  creed,  but  he  had  his 
wn  notions  as  to  the  manner  in  which  the  cultivation  of 
elf  was  to  be  conducted,  and  being  still  some  degrees 
olow  the  exalted  plane  of  observation  occupied  by  the 
foresaid  Star,  was  not  superior  to  the  weakness  of  talk- 
ig  about  philanthropy,  even  believing  himself  that  he 
id  good  for  good's  sake,  and  that  his  satisfaction  in  see- 
ig  others  made  happy  through  his  instrumentality,  was 
are  benevolence.  His  charities  were  many — and  open 


82  JESSAMINE. 

Indeed,  Lady  Patronesses  shook  their  heads,  smilingly, 
at  him  while  deprecating  his  "  soft-hearted  credulity  " 
and  lauding  his  generosity,  and  his  name  was  a  synonym 
among  men  for  good-nature  and  lenient  judgment. 

Therefore,  when  he  muttered — "Just  like  my  con 
founded  amiability,  this  taking  so  much  pains  to  benefit 
those  who  may  never  appreciate  my  motives,  nor  be 
grateful  for  what  I  have  done  !  "  as  he  buttoned  his  over 
coat  up  to  his  chin  and  pulled  on  his  fur-lined  gloves 
he  half  believed  that  he  spoke  sincerely — went  systemati 
cally  to  work  to  arrange  his  projects  with  the  best  side 
toward  him  ;  found  substantial  comfort  in  so  doing. 

Roy  had  left  his  affianced  to  his  guardianship,  and  her 
action  at  this  juncture  might  be  fraught  with  important 
consequences  to  her  and  to  Roy  himself.  He  could  allay 
Mr.  Ivirko's  scruples,  if  he  had  any,  relative  to  his  daugh 
ter's  acceptance  of  Mrs.  Baxter's  pressing  offer  of  hospi 
tality  and  chaperonage,  better  in  five  minutes'  talk  than 
by  twenty  written  pages.  He  was  anxious  that  Jessie] 
should  pay  the  visit.  She  had  taken  a  strong  hold  of  his] 
fancy,  and  he  could  study  her  to  advantage  while  she  \vaai 
her  cousin's  guest  ;  be  her  cavalier  wherever  she  went,  by] 
virtue  of  the  authority  vested  in  him  by  her  absent  beJ 
trothed.  Hamilton  was  dull  this  season.  There  was  noa 
a  woman  in  it  whom  he  had  not  read  from  preface  toi 
"  Finis  " — and  his  energies  were  chafing  for  lack  of  ex-f 
ercise  in  his  noble  vocation.  The  prospect  of  Jessie'* 
coming — the  high-spirited  child  of  nature,  lively  and  Iov4 
ing,  was  very  tempting. 

But  tliis  was,  he  perceived,  a  digression,  and  he  hastened 
to  regain  the  original  line  of  thought.  His  scheme— J 
which  Mrs.  Baxter  must  be  suffered  to  believe  was  her's, 


JESSAMINE.  83 

instead- -of  giving  the  country  clergyman's  daughter  a 
season  in  town,  was  a  golden  opportunity  of  improvement 
of  her  mind  and  manners  that  should  not  be  lightly  cast 
aside.  She  had,  more  than  once,  confidentially  bemoaned 
her  inability  to  procure  in  Dundee  the  tuition  in  music 
and  German  she  fancied  she  needed  to  qualify  her  to  fill 
worthily  the  Station  to  which  Roy  had  elected  her. 

The  reader  of  human  nature  smiled  a  little  just  here. 

"  When,  if  the  truth  were  known,  the  practical  Pro 
fessor  would  be  better  pleased — aye !  and  better  served 
in  the  long  run,  were  his  Jessamine  to  confine  her  ambi 
tion  to  the  realms  of  cake,  and  bread,  and  butter  making. 
I  have  seen  other  women  as  mistakenly  risk  complexions 
and  eyes  in  poring  overbooks,  under  the  fond  impression 
that  they  were  'qualifying'  themselves  to  be  their  hus 
band's  '  help-meets ' !  What  an  age  of  shams  is  this !  " 

Since,  however^  this  was  Jessie's  delusion,  it  might  as 
well  be  indulged.  She  could  have  excellent  music  and 
language  masters  in  Hamilton.  He  would,  himself, 
snatch  a  few  hours,  weekly,  that  he  might  read  German 
with  her.  The  readings  would  prevent  him  from  rusting 
in  a  language  once  familiar  to  him,  as  his  own,  and  he 
would  find  further  compensation  for  his  trouble  in  the 
enjoyment  he  foresaw  in  guiding  her  eager  mind  through 
the  rich  storehouses  of  literature  a  knowledge  of  Ger- 

o 

man  would  unlock  for  her.  Waxing  more  complacently 
benevolent,  he  dwelt  upon  the  comfort  and  pleasure  Mrs. 
Baxter — a  worthy,  though  ridiculous,  creature — would 
derive  from  the  companionship  of  her  young  friend. 
The  Lady  President  was  a  born  Patroness.  The  intro 
duction  of  the  sparkling  luminary  he  was  sure  Jessie 
would  become  in  the  Hamiltonian  firmament,  would  be 


84  JESSAMINE. 

with  her  a  work  of  pride  and  love.  She  would  spare  no 
pain&  to  make  the  novice's  sojourn  in  hei  abode  delight 
ful  to  all  parties  interested  in  it. 

Notwithstanding  which   irrefragable   reasoninc; — such 

O  c?  o 

was  the  effect  of  atmospheric  and  other  extraneous  influ 
ences  upon  one  in  the  undisputed  possession  of  a  sound 
body,  sane  mind,  and  serenely  approving  conscience — • 
Mr.  Wyllys  relapsed  into  discouragement  several  times  in 
the  earlier  stages  of  his  journey  ;  wrote  himself  down  an 
ass  for  taking  the  trouble  of  a  ten  hours'  ride  into  the 

~ 

country  at  this  gloomy  season  to  accomplish  that,  which, 
after  all,  might  have  been  settled  by  letter.  Break 
fast  by  gas-light,  a  hard  run  through  muddy  streets  to 
catch  the  train ;  a  seat  in  a  damp,  close-smelling  car, 
which  was  chilled,  rather  than  warmed,  by  a  stove-full 
of  green  wood,  were  sorry  tonics  for  preparing  spirits  and 
temper  for  the  duties  of  a  new  day.  It  annoyed  the  phi 
lanthropist  that  he  could  not  put  from  his  mind  the  vision 
of  Hoy  Fordham's  happy  face  as  it  shone  upon  his  wak 
ing  sight  one  July  morning — the  first  of  the  summer  va 
cation.  Yalise  in  hand,  he  had  burst  into  his  cousin's 
sleeping-room  to  say  "  Good-by,"  for  he  was  off,  by  peep 
of  dawn,  to  Dundee  and  Jessie.  Orrin  remembered  every 
word  that  had  been  spoken  ;  how  he  had  forborne  to  re 
mind  the  rapturous  lover  that  this  was  the  last  visit  he 
could  pay  his  promised  bride  before  his  departure  for 
Europe  in  August,  and  the  calm  surprise  he  had  felt  at 
seeing  "  prudent,"  far-seeing  Roy  apparently  oblivious  of 
all  save  present  delight.  Oddly,  enough,  it  would  have 
been  more  agreeable  to  his  trusty  relative  to  think  of  the 
absentee  as  a  staid,  studious  personage,  whose  affections 
were  always  subservient  to  duty  and  judgment. 


JESSAMINE.  85 

Few  of  earthly  mould — such  are  the  freaks  <,f  imagi 
nation  and  the  complications  of  nervous  irritation — are, 
at  all  times,  superior  to  like  vicissitudes  of  purpose  and 
temper.  I  trust,  then,  that  my  hero  will  not  suffer  ma 
terially  in  the  opinion  of  the  exceptional  minority  when 
I  state  that  it  was  near  noon  ere  he  finally  and  stably 
reassured  his  dubious  mind  that  in  this  flying  visit  to  the 
parsonage,  he  was  acting  .wisely  for  Himself,  and,  as 
secondary,  third  and  fourth  rate  considerations,  for  Jessie, 
Roy,  and  Mrs.  Baxter.  The  lever  that  completed  the 
task  of  elevating  his  self-esteem  from  the  slough  of  doubt, 
was  not  the  anticipation  of  Jessie's  personal  and  mental 
improvement,  or  Mrs.  Baxter's  gratified  maternal  long 
ings.  It  was  the  thought  how  the  light  imprisoned  in 
Eunice  Kirke's  berylline  eyes,  would  break  up  to  the 
surface  in  the  golden  glints  he  had  seen,  at  infrequent 
intervals,  dash  their  placid  darkness ;  how  her  slow, 
bright  smile  would  greet  his  unexpected  appearance,  and 
applaud  his  vivacious  sallies  ;  the  swreet  monotone,  many 
a  queen  of  fashion  would  give  her  costliest  jewels'  to 
imitate  successfully,  reply  to  his  questioning.  "For  he 
would  have  many  questions  to  put.  This  was  a  studious 
autumn  with  the  sisters.  While  Roy  had  laughed  at 
Jessie's  lamentations  over  her  lack  of  learning,  protesting 
that  she  "  knew  more  already  of  books  and  men  than  any 
professor's  wife  he  had  ever  met,"  he  had,  in  compliance 
with  her  desire,  and  believing  that  active  employment 
would  be  wholesome  discipline  for  her  in  the  w'eary 
months  of  their  separation,  arranged  a  schedule  of 
history,  ancient  and  modern,  French,  German,  and  gen 
eral  reading  for  her.  Orrin  had  also  visited  Dundee  in 
the  August  vacation,  accompanying  Roy  back  to  town, 


86  JESSAMINE. 

find  not  quitting  him  until  he  waved  his  farewell  from 
tlie  pier  to  the  slowly-moving  steamship  "  outward 
bound."  During  those  sad,  precious  "last  days,"  the 
disengaged  pair  were,  of  necessity,  often  left  to  entertain 
one  another  for  hours  together,  and  their  decorous  friend 
ship  had  matured  naturally '  and  gracefully  into  an 
equally  decorous  intimacy.  Orrin  had  marked  passages 
for  Eunice's  consideration  in  divers  books  they  had 
glanced  over  in  company  ;  sent  to  her  after  his  return  to 
Hamilton,  Carlyle,  Emerson,  and  Macaulay  ;  besides  run 
ning  down  for  a  day  in  October,  to  bring  a  thick  roll  of 
duetts,  sonatas  and  etudes,  and  the  whole  of  Mozart's 
Twelfth  Mass  for  Miss  Kirke's  practice  in  the  lengthen- 
-ing  evenings. 

He  had  taken  extraordinary  pains  to  ascertain  her 
tastes,  and  displayed  his  customary  tact  in  ministering  to 
these. 

'•  "We  are  almost  relations-in-law,  you  know !  "  had 
been  his  only  apology  for  attentions  and  gifts,  and 
Eunice  had  accepted  all  in  simple  good  faith. 

Her  interest  in  his  talk  and  her  manifest  liking  for 
him,  were  a  more  flattering  tribute  to  his  vanity  than 
was  Jessie's  frank  cousinliness.  I  think  it  is  always  thus 
with  the  tokens  of  favor  vouchsafed  to  friend  and  ad 
mirer  by  reserved,  self-concentrated  women.  While  Jes 
sie  was  his  especial  study  (or  quarry)  just  now,  he  did  not 
disdain  the  goods  the  gods  offered  him  in  the  esteem  and 
preference  of  the  handsome  elder  sister.  lie  had  found 
her  eminently  convenient  when  his  motive  was  to  pique 
and  mystify  his  cousin's  betrothed  by  a  feint  of  haughty 
indifference,  and  he  was  too  wise  an  economist  to  cast 
aside  what  he  had  gained.  He  would  be  a  clumsy 


JESSAMINE.  87 

diplomatist,  indeed,  were  he  to  prove  himself  incompe 
tent  to  the  management  of  two  affairs  at  the  same  time. 

If  my  attempted  analyzation  of  a  "  fascinating  man's  '* 
principles  and  intentions  has  seemed  prolix  to  the  surface- 
reader,  he  will  bear  in  mind  that  it  is  but  a  meagre 
abstract  of  what  Mr.  Wyllys  thought,  felt,  and  reasoned 
through  the  dreary  November  day,  that  did  not  see  the 
?un  until  a  break  in  the  clouds  low  upon  the  western 
hills  let  out  his  light  upon  a  sodden,  wretched  earth. 

The  late  rays  burnished  Windbeam's  coronal  of  cedars 
into  golden-green,  but  curling  fleeces  of  mist  clung  about 
his  mighty  chest  and  flanks,  making  him  look  grimmer 
and  blacker  by  contrast ;  the  valley  was  full  of  shadows, 
purple  and  gray ;  the  old  church  was  lightless  save  for 
the  one  dazzling  arrow  which  was  shivered  against  the 
slender  tip  of  the  spire,  when  Orrin  undid  the  latch  of 
the  parsonage-gate.  Provei^al  warmth  and  roses  were 
things  that  belonged  to  the  dead  summer.  Eunice's  ever 
greens  hardly  redeemed  the  garden  from  desolation.  A 
trim  arbor-vitas  hedge  kept  warm  the  southern  border, 
that  would  be  gay  in  March  with  crocuses  and  tulips ; 
the  box-trees  were  the  only  leafy  shrubs  in  the  alley 
down  which  Jessie  had  crept,  to  faint  in  his  arms  at  the 
other  end.  A  thrifty  holly,  beaded  with  scarlet,  mounted 
guard  at  the  left  of  the  front  steps,  as  did  a  cedar,  cov 
ered  with  bluish- white  berries,  at  the  right.  A  stately 
young  pine  he  remembered  as  a  favorite  of  Jessie's,  filled 
the  air  with  its  solemn  sighing,  while  he  awaited  the 
answer  to  his  knock. 

"  So,  "Winter  comes  even  to  the  Happy  Yalley  !  "  he 
moralized.  "  I  ought  to  have  known  it,  of  course,  only  I 
had  not  thought  of  it." 


88  JESSAMINE. 

Patsey,  the  good-humored  servant-gill,  opened  the 
door,  and  welcomed  Mr.  Wyllys  with  the  broadest  of 
smiles. 

"Mr.  Kirke  and  Miss  Eunice  is  not  at  home,  sir. 
They're  a-visiting  some  place  in  the  village.  Miss  Jessie 
is  in,  though.  Be  pleased  to  walk  into  the  parlor,  and 
I'll  tell  her  you're  here." 

He  heard  swift  feet  skim  the  floor  overhead  as  his 
name  was  repeated,  and  Jessie  was  in  the  room  before  he 
could  take  off  his  gloves.  With  a  wild,  scared  face,  lips 
that  moved  without  sound,  and  eyes  that  demanded  con 
firmation  or  denial  of  the  dread  that  was  strangling  her 
heart,  she  caught  his  hands  and  looked  up  dumbly  at 
him.  His  smile  broke  the  spell  sooner  and  more  effectu 
ally  than  words  could  have  done.  She  wrested  her  fin 
gers  from  his,  with  a  laugh  so  burdened  with  shame  and 
happiness  as  to  be  more  like  a  sob,  testifying  what  had 
been  the  pressure  and  what  was  the  release. 

u  I  was  sure  " — 

"  That  I  was  the  bearer  of  bad  news  from  abroad.  1 
understand,"  Orrin  took  np  the  broken  sentence.  "  You 
were  never  more  mistaken.  Your  letter,  enclosing  Mrs. 
Baxter's,  brought  me.  Your  fears  must  take  counsel  of 
hope  and  faith  another  time.  Hoy  was  well  when  last 
heard  from — well  and  happy,  and,  you  may  be  sure,  very 
busy.  But  wrhat  is  this  ? "  leading  her  to  the  window  and 
scrutinizing  her  with  fond  solicitude.  "  What  have  you 
been,  doing  with  yourself  ?  I  am  afraid  he  keeps  his 
pledge  of  health,  and  resignation  to  the  Inevitable  better 
than  you  do  yours  to  him.  Are  you  not  well  ?  You 
have  been  sick,  and  I  was  not  told  of  it !  " 

Her  complexion,  was  dead  to  sallowness ;  her  eyes  were 


JESSAMINE.  89 

leaden,  the  lids  drooping  wearily,  and  she  was  thinner  in 
face  and  figure  than  when  he  had  parted  from  her  six 
weeks  ago.  Her  dress,  of  dark,  "navy"  blue  serge, made 
plainly,  the  long  skirt  heavy  and  still  while  she  stood, 
and  unrelieved  save  by  narrow  linen,  collar  and  cuffs, 
looked  like  a  mourning  garb. 

"  The  Mater  Dolorosa  to  the  life  !  "  said  the  quick- 
eyed  lover  of  the  fine  arts  to  himself.  "  A  blue  hood 
drawn  well  forward  would  make  the  likeness  perfect. 
AVI K)  would  have  thought  that  a  morbidly  love-sick  girl 
could,  by  dreaming  and  fretting,  stamp  her  features  with 
the  imprint  of  •  that  divine  sorrow!  Marvellous  are  the 
tricks  of  Nature !  " 

All  this  while  he  held  Jessie's  hand  ;  his  eyes  seemed 
as  if  they  could  not  leave  the  countenance  whose  change 
had  so  pained  him.  The  girl's  faint  smile  was  very 
grateful. 

"  I  am  not  sick  !  I  have  no  physical  ailment  beyond  a 
sensation  of  general  good-for-nothingness.  I  ought  to  be 
ashamed  to  confess  it,  but  I  imagine  I  have  a  touch  of 
what  fine  ladies  call  the  '  blues.'  Papa  would  have  in 
Dr.  Winters  a  month  ago,  in  spite  of  all  I  could  do  and 
suy.  He  laughed  at  me  a  little,  scolded  me  a  great  deal, 
and  pronounced  my  malady  dyspepsia,  or  low  fever,  or 
nervous  debility — he  was  not  certain  which.  In  any  case, 
his  prescription  was  quinine,  dumb-bells,  and  porter,  ale. 
luger  beer,  or  a  decoction  of  gentian-root  and  chamomile 
flowers.  Think  of  it! "  with  a  grimace.  "  Could  my  cup 
of  existence  be  more  effectually  embittered  ?  I  take  qui 
nine,  and  swing  the  bells  a  thousand  times  each  day,  but 
I  do  not  see  that  the  regimen  increases  my  appetite  or 
makes  me  sleep  better.  There  is  nothing  the  matter  with 


90  JESSAMINE. 

me  that  will  not  yield  to  resolution  and  common-sense 
and — and — time !  I  shall  be  all  right  when  I  get  used 
to  things  as  they  are,"  she  continued,  with  feverish  rapid 
ity,  marking  his  doubtful  look.  "  I  need  discipline,  hard 
ening,  tempering.  If  papa  and  Euna  would  rate  mo 
soundly  for  my  folly  and  childishness,  the  counter-irritant 
would  brace  my  system.  I  should  need  no  other  medi 
cine.  But  they  won't,  unfortunately  !  " 

She  was  laughing  now,  but  not  with  her  native  glee. 
Orrin's  scrutiny— serious  and  tender — was  prolonged 
until  her  eyes  sank  and  a  blush  of  the  lost  color  tinged 
her  temples.  A  sigh  escaped  him  as  he  relinquished  her 
hand,  and  walked  twice  through  the  apartment  to  collect 
thoughts  and  words. 

"  My  coming  was  timely,"  he  said,  drawing  a  chair  to 
her  side.  "  Dear  child !  your  life  is  too  precious  to  be 
wasted  in  unavailing  regrets.  Your  peace  of  mind  is 
deai1  to  too  many  to  be  wrecked  by  morbid  nursings. 
Don't  think  me  harsh !  You  should  have  something  to 
engage  your  time  and  thoughts  beyond  the  routine  of  oc 
cupation  and  recreation  appointed  to  you  here ;  should 
see  more  of  the  world  than  that  portion  of  it  which  is 
bounded  by  these  mountains.  You  would  starve  upon 
what  satisfies  your  sister.  Duty  to  be  performed — duty 
done — a  straight  course  and  strength  to  walk  therein— 
these  fill  the  measure  of  her  earthly  desires.  Your  tem 
perament  and  your  intellect  demand  a  larger  sphere — I 
wider  range  for  your  mind  and  more  food  for  your  heart. 
You  are  dying  of  inanition,  and  you  do  not  know  it.  You 
are  a  caged  wild  bird  who  is  trying  to  learn  to  sing  bj 
note." 

She  shook  her  head  wilfully. 


JESSAMINE.  9] 

"You  are  altogether  wrong.  I  have  been  pampered 
housed,  petted,  until  nerve  and  muscle,  mental  and  spir 
itual,  are  gone.  I  need  a  stimulant,  but  a  moral  one." 

Orrin  changed  his  ground. 

"  What  if  I  supply  it  in  the  guise  of  a  German  course, 
jcasoned  with  unsparing  admonition  whenever  you  are 
indolent  or  unreasonable  \ "  he  said,  lightly. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

LESS  vain  man  than  Mr.  Wyllys  would  have 
been  flattered  by  the  effect  produced  upon  the 
spiritless,  faded  creature,  the  mocking  shadow  of 
the  old  blithesome  Jessie,  by  half  an  hour's  talk 
with  himself.  A  less  patient  man  would  have 
been  chagrined  by  the  discovery  that  his  enumeration  of 
the  varied  and  substantial  benefits  that  would  accrue  to 
her  from  the  proposed  visit  to  Mrs.  Baxter,  and  the  deli 
cate  skill  with  which  he  contrived  to  keep  before  her  all 
the  while  the  prospect  of  his  society  and  guardianship, 
weighed  but  as  thistle-down  with  the  obtuse  "  love-sick 
girl,"  in  comparison  with  the  circumstance  that  Hamilton 
wus  Roy  Fordham's  home. 

Orrin  was  surprised,  and  not  agreeably,  when  her  own 
words  forced  this  astounding  fact  upon  him. 

"  It  will  be  the  next  best  thing !  "  she  said,  dreamily,  a 
happy  smile  touching  her  lips  and  kindling  up  her  eyes. 
"  I  have  heard  him  talk  BO  much  of  the  place  and  the  pco- 


JESSAMINE.  93 

pie,  that  it  will  be  like  revisiting  half-remembered  scenes 
— renewing  former  acquaintanceships.  You  will  show 
me  all  his  favorite  haunts,  let  me  see  the  friends  he  values 
most  highly — won't  you  ?  The  ocean  is  narrower  and 
quieter  when  I  think  of  taking  the  walks  and  drives  he 
likes  best — which  he  has  described  to  me  over  and  over  ; 
of  mingling  with  those  who  were  his  daily  associates — • 
who  knew  him  before  I  did.  Though  I  don't  like  very 
well  to  think  of  that" — interrupting  herself  with  a  laugh. 
"  I  feel  as  if  nobody  had  the  right.  It  seems  to  me  that 

I  cannot  recollect  when  I  did  not  know  him." 

••  vi 

She  mused  silentlv  for  some  minutes — the  tender  light 

*J  O 

still  trembling  over  her  face.  It  was  as  if  she  had  for 
gotten  his  presence,  until  a  sudden  thought  turned  her 
to  him  with  an  abrupt  query. 

"  Mrs.  Baxter  knows  nothing  of — has  heard  no  ru 
mors  ? "  in  shy  anxiety  that  appeared  overstrained  to  one 
who  had  heard  the  loving  soliloquy  Orrin  was  prompt  to 
decide  was  in  very  bad  taste,  even  when  the  unconsidered 
listener  was  in  the  confidence  of  both  parties. 

"Of  your  engagement?"  he  said,  with  grave  direct 
ness.  "  Hamilton  is  in  profound  ignorance  on  that  sub 
ject.  Roy  knows  how  to  keep  his  own  counsel,  and  know 
ing  it  was  his  wish  that  your  betrothal  should  remain 
secret,  for  the  present,  I  have  mentioned  it  to  no  one. 
You  need  be  under  no  embarrassment  on  that  score." 

"  Thank  you." 

Jessie  was  silent  again,  but  the  pause  was  filled  with 
soberer  thoughts.  She  began  to  fear  lest  she  had  been 
talking  nonsense  —  been  indiscreet  and  unmaidenly. 
Orrin  kindly  overlooked  the  lapse  into  selfish  sentimen 
tality,  but  she  was  ashamed  that  she  had  given  him  oo- 


94  JESSAMINE. 

casion  for  exercising  forbearance  on  this  subject.  lie 
noted,  and  with  satisfaction,  that  she  treated  him  to  no 
more  love  rhapsodies  that  night;  did  not  voluntarily 
name  Roy  in  the  ensuing  dialogue. 

"  I  am  happy  to  learn  that  Mrs.  Baxter  is  warm 
hearted  and  sincere,"  she  said,  at  the  close  of  a  searching 
catechism  upon  that  lady's  characteristics.  "  I  was  pre 
possessed  in  her  favor,  less  by  her  letter,  than  because  she 
loved  my  mother.  My  sister  has  been  a  dear  and  care 
ful  parent  to  me.  You  have  seen  what  my  father's  fond 
indulgence  is.  But  the  core  of  my  heart  has  ached  for 
my  mother — my  own  beautiful  mother — ever  since  she 
died.  1  was  not  quite  five  years  old,  yet  I.  recollect  her 
as  if  I  had  kissed  her  for  the  last  time,  yesterday.  My 
father  had  this  oriel  built  to  please  her.  I  remem 
ber  seeing  her  nowhere  else  until  she  was  carried 
up  to  her  death-bed.  Her  easy  chair  stood  there" — • 
pointing — "and  her  writing-desk  beside  it.  AVhen  J 
could,  by  standing  on  tip-toe,  just  get  my  chin  upon  the 
window-sill,  she  would  make  me  measure  with  a  bit  of 
ribbon  how  much  the  jessamine  had  grown  in  a  week. 
She  planted  these  vines  and  tended  them  as  if  they  had 
been  her  children.  She  said  to  me,  more  than  once  or 
twice,  that  she  hoped  I  would  be  like  my  name-flower 
when  I  grew  up — brave,  sweet,  faithful — telling  how 
one  had  for  fifty  years  curtained  the  porch  of  the  house 
in  which  she  was  born,  and  how  dearly  she  loved  it.  She 
made  me  her  companion,  and,  in  some  sort,  her  confi 
dante  by  the  time  I  could  talk  plainly,  and  very  proud  I 
was  of  the  distinction.  She  used  to  take  me  upon  her 
lap,  or  hold  me  closely  in  her  arms  as  she  lay  on  her 
lounge  in  the  twilight,  and  repeat  stories  cf  her  Southern 


JESSAMINE.  05 

home  ;  sing  ballads  so  sweetly  sad  that  I  could  not  help 
crying  quietly  while  I  listened — very  quietly,  for  fear  she 
should  hear  me,  and  stop." 

It  was  twilight  by  this  time.  The  mountain-crown 
was  dusky  as  the  plain  ;  the  elm-trees  in  the  church -yard 
were  swaying  in  the  bleak  wind  that  bowed  the  garden- 
shrubbery,  and  swept  the  long  grass  above  neglected 
graves  into  brown  waves.  The  naked,  snake-like  sprays 
of  the  creepers  tapped  monotonously  against  the  window- 
panes.  Orrm  had  healthy  nerves,  but  as  he  looked 
through  the  glooming  air  at  the  shaft,  standing  like  a 
sheeted  ghost  at  the  head  of  Mr.  Kirke's  second  wife, 
and  heard  in  the  stillness  of  the  place  and  hour,  the  sob 
bing  sighs  of  the  pine  boughs,  he  wished  Jessie  had 
chosen  some  other  hour  and  spot  for  her  weird  reminis 
cence  than  the  November  gloaming  and  this  haunted  re- 


She  was  leaning  back  in  her  chair,  her  hands  crossed, 
her  face  upraised  to  the  sky  : 

"  1  have  a  perfect  picture  of  her  before  me,  at  this 
moment,''  she  went  on,  presently.  "  She  had  large,  soft 
eyes,  and  very  dark  hair.  She  was  always  pale,  and  she 
never  laughed.  But  her  smile  was  my  reward  when  I  was 
good,  as  her  kiss  was  the  cure  for  every  hurt.  Nobody 
else  can  ever  tell  me  such  wonderful  tales.  Some  were 
in  prose,  many  in  verse,  more  beautiful  to  my  apprehen 
sion  than  any  poetry  I  have  read  since.  This  was  on  her 
well  (ays — my  white  days!  when  the  writing-desk 
would,  if  I  requested,  be  supplanted  by  the  color-box 
!  and  pencils,  and  we  passed  whole  hours  together— she 
and  I — she  sketching  or  painting  to  illustrate  anecdote 
and  fairy  story,  I  perched  in  my  high  chair  at  her  side, 


96  JESSAMINE. 

looking  on  in  rapt  delight.  I  believe  that  I  was  p 
troublesome  child — noisy,  wayward,  passionate — to  every 
body  else  in  the  house.  I  kept  away  from  her  of  my  own 
accord  in  my  stormy  or  sulky  fits.  The  earliest  lesson 
taught  me  by  my  father  was.  that  '  poor,  sick  mamma 
must  not  be  disturbed.'  I  suppose  it  was  on  account  oi 
her  feeble  health  that  he  always  heard  my  prayers,  put 
me  to  bed  at  night,  and  nursed  me  in  my  infant  sick 
nesses.  It  was  he  who  came  to  my  crib  in  the  dim  light 
of  one  terrible  January  morning,  and  told  me  that  she 
was  in  Heaven.  I  did  not  understand  exactly  what  that 
meant,  but  I  gathered  that  it  was  something  very  dread- 

Cj  O  W 

ful  from  the  sight  of  his  emotion.  I  have  never  seen 
hiin  weep  except  that  once.  I  had  sprung  from  my  pil 
low  to  sob  out  my  childish  grief  in  his  arms.  He  pressed 
me  to  his  bosom  until  I  could  scarcely  breathe,  and  said, 
over  and  over,  in  a  strange  undertone  that  terrified  me 

/  o 

more  than  did  the  drip  of  the  hot  tears  over  my  face — 
<  Ginevra's  baby!  Girievra's  baby!'  Baby  though  I 
was,  the  scene  is  graven  upon  my  memory  for  life." 

The  wind  shook  the  casement,  and  the  bare  sprays 
tapped  more  impatiently  upon  the  glass,  as  the  spirit  of 
the  dead  mother  might  have  signalled  her  child  to  let 
her  in. 

"  Mrs.  Baxter  will  never  weary  of  talking  with  you 
upon  a  theme  so  dear  to  you  both,"  said  Orrin,  shaking 
off  the  superstitious  fancy. 

Jessie  was  aroused  to  livelier  speech  by  the  suggestion. 

"  You  have  heard  her  speak  of  my  mother,  then  ?  " 

"  Yes,  but  before  I  suspected  the  identity  of  the  '  Gin- 
evra '  who  was  her  adopted  sister,  with  your  father's 
wife.  By  a  singular  mischance,  she  never  named  him  to 


JESSAMINE.  97 

me  until  one  day  last  week,  when  she  asked  if  I  knew 
him — and  you." 

He  had  equivocated  so  adroitly  as  to  bar  cross-examina 
tion,  he  hoped,  but  Jessie's  curiosity  was  not  easily 
parried. 

"  Was  that  before  or  after  she  wrote  to  me  ? " 

"  Probably  afterward,  for  she  told  me  that  the  sight  of 
a  keepsake  given  her  by  your  mother  had  set  her  to  think 
ing  of  their  early  and  close  intimacy,  and  that  she  had 
'  obeyed  the  impulse  which  bade  her  make  inquiries 
about  you,  and  ask  you  to  visit  her.'  Those  were  her 
words,  as  nearly  as  I  can  recall  them.  She  expresses  her 
self  warmly — but  not,  I  honestly  believe,  more  warmly 
ithan  she  feels." 

"  I  would  not  go  to  Hamilton  had  you  recalled  to  her 
mind  the  fact  of  my  existence.  If  love  for  her  lost 
friend  did  not  prompt  her  to  seek  me  out,  I  would  not 
•owe  my  recognition  to  the  recommendation  of  another. 
No  !  not  to  yours ! " 

Had  he  not  read  aright  her  sturdy  pride,  her  jealousy 
for  her  mother's  memory  and  her  father's  dignity  ?  With 
what  wise  pre-vision  he  had  detected  the  danger,  and,  by 
his  caution  to  Mrs.  Baxter,  averted  it ! 

Eunice,  the  beryl-eyed,  also  had  her  confidential  talk 
iwith  Mr.  Wyllys  that  night. 

"  Father,"  she  said,  after  supper,  as  he  tarried,  for  an 
i  nstant,  in  the  dining-room.     "  I  should  like  to  speak  with 
i-Mr.  Wyllis  for  ten  minutes  when  Jessie  is  not  by.     Can 
&*ou  contrive  to  call  her  out  of  the  parlor,  by  and  by  ? " 
'    "  Certainly,  my  daughter,"  he  replied,  without  curiosity 
•>r  hesitation. 
*    Jessie  was  his  pride  and  darling — very  beautiful  and 


98  JESSAMINE. 

gifted  in  his  eyes.  lie  lavished  upon  her  the  wealth  of  a 
heart  that  had  never  known  its  own  depth  until  he  mot 
her  mother.  The  first  Mrs.  Kirke  was  the  daughter  of 
-^ne  of  his  college-professors,  a  little  older  than  himself, 
very  amiable,  very  discreet,  and  the  best  housekeeper  in 
the  parish.  He  owed  much  to  her  exemplary  manage 
ment  since,  relieved  from  cares  domestic  and  pecuniary, 
he  could  devote  much  time,  bring  unjaded  energies,  and  a 
free  mind  to  the  prosecution  of  the  studies  he  loved  so 
well.  Without  in  the  least  entering  into  his  enthusiasm 
in  scholastic  research,  she  laid  down  as  one  of  the  rules 
of  her  orderly  household,  that  his  study  was  forbidden 
ground  to  heedless  or  intrusive  feet ;  guarded  him  when 
he  had  entered  the  sanctum,  and  shut  the  door  between 
him  and  the  living,  active  world — as  vigilantly  as  she 
would  have  watched  and  defended  hid  treasure.  lie  was 
"  about  his  business,"  in  her  phrase,  and  to  her  just,  prac 
tical  ideas  of  duty  and  life  it  was  but  right  that  people 
should  be  allowed  to  follow  their  lawful  and  allotted  call 
ings  without  molestation.  She  did  not  particularly  enjoy 
her  husband's  sermons,  but  he  found  her  bread,  butter, 
and  cake  always  to  his  taste.  lie  was  an  accomplished 
linguist,  and  would  have  been  glad  to  have  one  under  his 
own  roof,  with  whom  he  could  converse  in  Italian,  Ger 
man,  or  French.  She  had,  as  his  correct  ear  continually 
reminded  him,  but  an  imperfect  acquaintance  with  her 
vernacular,  according  to  classical  standards.  But  her 
coffee  was  fragrant,  clear,  and  strong ;  while  a  whiff  of 
her  Young  Hyson  was  as  the  scent  of  a  zephyr  that  had 
wandered  over  acres  of  flowering  tea-plants,  and  made 
the  wishy-washy,  or  over-boiled  decoctions  of  other 
housewives  seem  but  weedy  and  rank  abominations.  If 


JESSAMINE.  99 

the  i?frned  and  sensitive  young  pastor  kept  within  his 
own  breast  many  thoughts,  dreams,  and  regrets  he  would 
fain  have  shared  with  a  congenial  mate,  it  should  have 
been  a  compensation  that  the  shirt-front  covering  the 
sealed  repository  of  these  was  snowy  and  glossy  as  a  bran- 
new  tomb-stone ;  that  the  heels  of  his  socks  were  always 
run  before  they  went  on  his  feet,  and  that  in  the  years  of 
their  wedded  life  he  never  found  "  a  button  off."  Mr. 
Kirke  believed  fully  all  his  parishioners  said  when  they 
assured  him  that  he  had  a  pattern  wife,  and  that  he 
ought  to  take  good  care  of  her,  since  he  would  never  find 
another  like  her.  She  worked  steadily  and  diligently — 
she  was  never  "  fussy  " — up  to  the  day  on  which  Eunice's 
little  brother  was  born.  "  Overdid  herself,"  said  doctor 
and  gossips,  while  her  husband  blamed  himself  bitterly 
for  not  having  taken  thought  to  spare  her  who  had  served 
him  to  the  death.  The  death  that  came  so  swiftly  and 
easily,  she  had  time  for  neither  parting  word  nor  kiss. 

"  I  am  tired,  I  believe,"  she  murmured  to  the  nurse. 
Unused  to  complain,  she  said  it  deprecatingly  even  in 
mortal  weakness.  "  Do  you  think  that  I  might  just  take  a 
little  nap  ?  If  Mr.  Kirke  should  want  for  anything,  don't 
hesitate  to  wake  me  at  once."  With  that  she  turned  her 
face  to  the  wall  and  died — "  fell  asleep,"  said  her  head 
stone.  Her  baby  was  buried  with  her. 

This  was  Eunice's  mother.  Four  years  after  the 
decease,  the  widower  met  Ginevra  Lanneau  at  a  watering- 
place  whither  he  had  gone  for  health,  and  she  for  dis 
traction  from  certain  troublesome  memories.  Whatever 
may  have  been  her  faults  and  weaknesses  ;  whatever  the 
motives  for  her  marriage  and  the  causes  of  her  subse 
quent  mvalidisin  and  melancholy,  this  good  man  had 


100  JESSAMINE. 

worshipped  her  Math  entireness  of  devotion ;  had  mourned 
her  with  an  intensity  of  anguish  that  bleached  his  locks  ; 
bent  his  stately  form  toward  the  earth  that  had  swallowed 
ii]>  his  idol ;  deafened  him  to  the  calls  of  ambition  that 
urged  him  to  leave  a  seclusion  endeared  to  him  as  her 
home  and  burial-place. 

But  for  all  this,  Eunice  was  his  right  hand,  in  Parson 
age  and  in  parish.  He  "  really  would  have  no  excuse  for 
a  third  marriage,"  was  a  common  saying  in  the  neighbor 
hood — "  with  such  a  daughter  to  keep  his  house  and  '  do 
for  him.' "  If  the  spirit  of  the  mother  were  permitted 
to  watch  her  child's  daily  walk  and  conversation,  it  must 
have  heightened  her  beatitude  to  be  thus  assured  that 
"  Mr.  Kirke  "  was  not  likely,  while  Eunice  lived,  "  to  want 
for  anything."  Her  father's  trust  in  her  discretion  was 
implicit,  and  when  she  unblushingly  asked  him  to  "  con 
trive"  to  secure  for  her  a  tete-d-tete  with  a  young  and 
attractive  man,  he  made  no  demur,  formed  no  conject 
ures.  Nor  did  he  doubt  that  the  matter  of  her  communi 
cation  to  Mr.  Wyllys  was,  in  some  way,  essential  to  Jessie's 
weal.  The  first  and  abiding  thought  with  both  was  "  the 
child,"  he  had  yet  made  up  his  mind  to  part  with  for 
a  little  while. 

Eunice  was  sewing  by  the  shaded  parlor  lamp.  Wyllys, 
while  he  talked  to  both  sisters,  looked  quite  as  often  at 
her  as  at  Jessie.  He  was  in  the  mood  for  enjoying  him 
self,  and  his  surroundings  were  propitious.  He  had 
had  an  excellent  supper.  Eunice  had  inherited  her 
mother's  taste  and  skill  in  the  domestic  department.  Her 
dainty  cookery  would  have  done  credit  to  a  salaried  chef, 
Baid  Mr.  Wyllys,  than  whom  there  were  few  better  judges 
of  all  that  pertained  to  the  gratifications  of  the  flesh.  A 


JESSAMINE.  J}\ 

wood  fire  burned  busily  and  gayly  upon  the  castellated 
fire-dogs  of  shining  brass  that  flashed  back  the  illumin 
ation  from  a  hundred  curves  and  points.  There  was  a 
breath  of  tea-roses  and  mignonette  in  the  air,  for  the 
shelf  running  around  the  inside  of  the  oriel  was  filled 
with  plants;  crimson  curtains  had  taken  the  place  of 
muslin,  at  the  other  windows.  A  November  gale — "  a 
dry  storm  " — was  rising  without.  It  was  pleasant,  while 
hearkening  to  its  blustering,  to  bethink  himself  that  he 
had  not  to  breast  it  in  a  tramp  back  to  the  hotel,  he 
having  accepted  Mr.  Kirke's  invitation  to  sleep  at  the 
parsonage.  The  recollection  of  his  disagreeable  journey, 
now  that  he  was  rested,  warmed,  and  filled,  was  another 
element  in  his  present  content.  The  old-fashioned  parlor 
with  its  quaint  and  massive  furniture,  were  more  to  his 
liking  than  the  polish  and  glow  of  the  modern  "  suite  of 
rooms,"  every  prosperous  mechanic's  wife  now  regards  as 
one  of  the  necessaries  of  life.  From  his  leisurely  and  ap 
proving  survey  of  the  apartment,  his  eyes  came  back  to 
dwell  longest  upon  Eunice. 

She  wore  a  brown  merino,  that  made  no  noise  when  she 
moved,  and  fell  in  classic  folds  about  her  as  she  sat  in  her 
straight-backed  chair.  A  knot  of  blue  ribbon  joined  a 

9 

crimped  ruffle  above  the  high-necked  dress,  and  frills  of 
the  same  material  were  at  her  wrists.  The  light,  strained 
through  the  ground-glass  shade,  made  her  skin  seem  fair 
and  fresh  as  that  of  a  little  child,  while  it  did  not  blur 
the  clear  chiselling  of  her  features.  Her  hands  wero 
shapely,  her  motions  replete  with  quiet  grace.  The  high. 
bred  lady,  stainless  in  deed  as  single  in  motive,  spoke  in 
the  fearless,  tranquil  eyes  and  composed  demeanor. 
"  She  rests  me  1 "  said  the  Connoisseur  in  womanly  loveli- 


102  JESSAMINE. 

ness,  to  his  appreciative  self.  "  If  I  were  obliged  to  marry 
either,  I  am  not  sure  she  would  not  suit  me  better  than 
this  restless  gypsy,  who  keeps  one  perpetually  upon  the 
qui  vive  by  her  sharp  interrogations,  her  repartee,  and 
variable  moods.  To  secure  the  perfection  of  comfort,  a 
man  should  be  able  to  flirt  with  one  all  day,  and  come 
home  at  evening  to  recover  from  his  dazed  feverishness  in 

o 

the  cool  semi-twilight  of  the  other's  presence.  I  must 
find  out,  some  day,  if  she  has  ever  been  in  love.  I  think 
not.  There  is  a  dewy  firmness  in  the  texture  of  her 
heart  that  seldom  outlasts  the  fires  of  even  a  mild  passion 
— such  a  timid  flame  as  the  pastors  daughter  might  con 
scientiously  feel  for  some  pious  under-shepherd  or  amor 
ous  evangelist." 

At  this  precise  instant,  Jessie,  who  had  been  flitting 
restlessly  about  the  room,  picking  dead  leaves  from  the 
geraniums,  and  seed- vessels  from  verbenas  and  mignonette, 
tossing  them,  one  at  a  time,  into  the  fire,  and  pensively 
watching  the  blaze  feed  upon  them  ;  parting  the  curtains 
to  press  her  face  against  the  glass  "  to  see  whether  it 
rained,"  stopping  once  in  a  while  to  lean  on  her  sister's 
chair  and  address  a  question  to  her  or  Orrin — obeyed  her 
father's  summons  to  his  study.  The  two  left  at  the  fire 
side,  followed  her  to  the  door  with  their  eyes,  then  these 
met.  Eunice  answered  the  questioning  of  Orrin's. 

"  She  is  over-excited  to-night.  But  there  is  a  nervous 
restlessness  about  her  of  late  that  makes  me  anxious.  I 
hope  much  for  her  from  the  proposed  change  of  air  and 
Bcene." 

She  laid  aside  her  work,  neatly  folded  ;  put  scissora 
and  thimble  in  their  eases,  and  the  cases  into  her  work- 
box,  and  calmly  confronted  her  companion. 


JESSAMINE.  103 

"  Mr.  Wyllys,  I  wish  to  say  a  word  to  you  respecting 
my  sister's  antecedents  before  she  goes  to  Mrs.  Baxter." 

Without  a  symptom  of  surprise,  he  bowed,  and  ex 
changed  his  seat  for  one  near  the  stand  by  which  she  sat. 
In  this  one  action,  he  accepted  her  confidence,  and  put  his 
services  at  her  disposal  should  she  desire  them. 

"  From  the  descriptions  of  this  lady,  given  by  yourself 
and  my  father,  I  infer  that  she  is  affectionate  and  voluble. 
She  will  be  likely  to  impart  to  Jessie  all  she  knows  of  her 
mother's  history,  and  question  her  concerning  her  own 
childish  recollections.  I  have  thought  it  best  that  you 
should  hear  the  truth  upon  a  subject  that  is  rarely  alluded 
to  in  our  family.  My  father  talked  freely  of  it  with  Mr. 
Fordham  before  giving  his  sanction  to  his  engagement 
with  Jessie ;  but  he  has  not  spoken  of  it  to  me  in  many 
years — never  to  my  sister.  Should  a  garbled  version  of 
a  story  which  is  sad  enough  in  itself,  reach  her  ears,  it 
would  distress  and  bewilder  her  if  there  were  no  one  near 
who  could  correct  the  mis-statement.  My  stepmother 
never  recovered  the  natural  tone  of  her  health  and  spirits 
after  my  sister's  birth.  Her  malady  took  the  form  of  a 
gentle  melancholy,  indifference  to  domestic  and  neighbor 
hood  interests,  varied  at  times  by  fits  of  wild  weeping,  so 
violent  that  she  was  confined  to  her  couch  with  headache 
and  debility  for  several  days  after  each.  She  talked 
rationally  when  drawn  into  conversation,  expressing  her 
self  upon  every  topic  discussed  with  clearness  and  intelli 
gence  ;  but  the  spring  of  action  was  gone.  She  never 
complained  of  bodily  pain ;  made  no  unreasonable  de 
mands  upon  the  time  and  patience  of  those  about  her. 
Nor  did  she  require  to  be  humored  and  amused  as  is  the 
way  of  most  sufferers  from  confirmed  hysteria.  She 


104  JESSAMINE. 

read  much  and  wrote  more,  burning  her  manuscripts, 
however,  as  fast  as  they  were  finished.  She  drew,  too, 
rapidly  and  well,  and  upon  these  occupations  expended 
what  little  energy  of  mind  and  body  remained  to  her 
after  the  illness  that  had  nearly  cost  her  her  life.  "We 
guarded  her  from  intrusion  and  uncharitable  remark  as 
far  as  we  could.  My  nurse,  an  elderly  widow,  was  then 
alive,  and  was  our  housekeeper,  her  daughter  being  our 
only  other  servant.  How  the  report  originated,  I  cannot 
say — probably  from  some  indiscreet  remark  let  fall  by 
this  daughter,  who  has  now  a  home  of  her  own  some 
miles  away — but  within  the  year,  a  rumor  lias  been  brought 
to  me  that  Jessie's  mother  died  a  lunatic.  It  is  possible 
Mrs.  Baxter  has  likewise  heard  such.  If  she  has,  and 
should  be  so  imprudent  as  to  repeat  it  to  you,  so  unfeeling 
as  to  hint  it  to  the  daughter  of  that  unhappy  lady,  may  I 
rely  upon  you  to  tell  my  sister  the  exact  truth  ?  My  step 
mother  lived  and  died  a  sane  woman — as  sane  as  I  am 
this  moment.  Jessie  is  impressible  and  ardent.  Her 
love  for  her  mother  is  a  passion.  It  would  nearly  kill  her 
if  this  slander  were  retailed  to  her." 

She  had  made  her  little  speech ;  summed  up  the  case, 
and  offered  her  appeal  with  such  simplicity,  such  deft 
moderation,  as  challenged  the  lawyer's  admiration.  His 
reply  was  directly  to  the  purpose. 

"  You  may  depend  upon  me,  Miss  Kirke.  I  hope, 
with  you,  that  I  shall  never  be  called  upon  to  fulfil  the 
*3'ust  with  which  you  have  honored  me.  I  am  confident 
that  Mrs.  Baxter  is  ignorant  of  the  particulars  of  her 
cousin's  ill-health.  She  has  spoken  to  me  with  apparent 
frankness  of  her  early  life — of  her  marriage,  and  the  se 
clusion  that  followed  it." 


JESSAMINE.  105 

"For  which  she  blames  my  father!"  interrupted 
Eunice,  red  indignation  staining  her  fair  face.  "  Be 
cause  he  would  not  subject  his  wife  to  the  indifferent  or 
pitying  observation  of  those  who  had  been  the  associates 
of  her  brilliant  girlhood  ;  because  he  indulged  her  long 
ing  for  solitude  and  quiet ;  guarded  her  sedulously  and 
tenderly  from  all  that  could  tax  and  jar  upon  her  tort 
ured  nerves — lie  fell  under  their  ban !  He  gave  me 
some  letters  to  examine  and  file — or  burn,  if  I  thought 
fit — ten  years  ago.  Among  them  I  found  one  from  Mrs. 
Baxter — one  from  another  cousin  of  Ginevra  Lanneau. 
They  were  written  to  him,  just  after  her  death.  Both 
reproached  him — Mrs.  Baxter  (then  Miss  Jane  Lanneau) 
gently,  the  other  harshly,  for  separating  his  young  wife 
from  her  friends  and '  immersing  her  in  a  savage  solitude, 
where,  cut  off  from  all  congenial  associations,  a  nature 
so  reh'ned  as  hers  could  not  but  pine  itself  to  death.' 
I  do  not  quote  from  Mrs.  Baxter.  If  she  had  upbraided 
the  best  of  men  and  most  loving  of  husbands  in  these 
terms,  Jessie  should  never  enter  her  house,  unless  under 
my  protest." 

"  You  are  right.  But,  believe  me,  she  will  be  safe  and 
happy  in  Mrs.  Baxter's  care.  Her  goodness  of  heart  is 
undeniable ;  her  impulses  are  amiable,  and  she  is,  more 
over,  a  woman  of  sound  principles  and  genuine  piety. 
She  is  vain,  but  never  unkind  or  censorious.  She  always 
reminds  me  of  the  pretty  bas  bleu  immortalized  by  the 
'  Spectator  '—or  is  it  the  '  Tattler '  ?  « When  ' — says  the 
essayist — 'she  would  look  languishing,  there  is  a  fine 
thing  to  be  said  at  the  same  time  that  spoils  all.  Thus, 
the  unhappy  Merab,  although  a  wit  and  a  beauty,  hath  not 


106  JESSAMINE. 

the  credit  of  being  either,  and  all  because  she  would  be 
both.'  Onr  Hamilton  Merab  has  sterling  traits,  never 
theless,  and  is  incapable  of  using  the  language  you  have 
quoted.  No  one  but  a  vulgar  idiot  could  apply  it  to 
Mr.  TCirke.  The  writer  had,  I  take  it,  never  seen  him. 
You  have  every  reason  to  be  proud  of  your  father,  Mis? 
Eunice.  He  is  that  best  work  of  the  Creator — a  Christian 
gentleman, — I  say  it  without  reverence, — a  prince  of  the 
blood  royal." 

The  golden  lights  glanced  up  from  the  dark  wells  of 
her  eyes ;  her  smile  was  grateful  and  exultant. 

"  Thank  you  !  I  know  you  mean  what  you  say,  and  it 
is  but  the  truth." 

Neither  spoke  for  a  brief  space.  The  soughing  of  the 
pine-tree  was  annoyingly  continuous  to  Orrin's  ear;  the 
fire-flashes  were  silent.  He  tried  to  forget  the  vexing 
sound  in  remarking  that  Eunice's  bent  profile  showed 
against  the  dark  wood  of  the  high,  carved  mantel,  clear 
and  fine  as  a  cameo  cutting,  but  it  would  be  heard. 

"  You  were  very  young  at  the  time  of  your  step 
mother's  death  to  be  your  father's  assistant  and  co-adviser," 
he  said,  to  prevent  an  awkward  break  in  their  talk.  "  I 
am  surprised  at  the  accuracy  of  your  recollections." 

"I  was  fifteen.  The -elder  daughter  of  a  family  early 
learns  to  assume  and  to  bear  domestic  cares ;  is  more 
mature  at  the  same  age  than  are  those  who  come  after 
her.  I  remember  my  own  mother,  who  died  eleven  years 
earlier  than  did  Jessie's.  I  was  thirty  last  month." 

She  picked  up  her  sewing  without  a  flutter  or  a  blush, 
and  Orrin,  not  daring  to  offer  her  the  flimsy  compliment 
of  incredulity  he  would  have  paid  another  woman  who 


JESSAMINE. 


107 


had  volunteered  a  confession  disparaging  to  her  per 
sonal  charms,  was  still  casting  about  in  his  mind  for  words 
that  should  praise,  yet  not  offend,  when  his  opportunity 
was  lost  through  Jessie's  return  to  the  room. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

find  us,  in  humble  imitation  of  Mr.  Turveydrop, 
still  using  our  little  arts  to  polish — polish  ! "  said 
Jessie  Kirke,  mimicking  the  famous  trowel  gesture 
of  the  Professor  of  Deportment,  as  Orrin  Wyllys 
entered  Mrs.  Baxter's  drawing-room  on  the  even 
ing  of  the  fourth  of  January. 

The  Lady  President's  "  collegiate  re-unions  "  on  the  first 
and  third  Thursdays  of  each  month  had,  up  to  thia 
winter,  been  declared  a  nuisance  by  the  class  for  whose 
benefit  she  had  inaugurated  the  series ;  to  wit,  the 
homeless,  graceless  students  whose  intellectual  training 
was  committed  to  her  husband  and  his  confreres,  while 
their  polite  education  was  left  to  Fate  and  the  hap-hazard 
culture  of  promiscuous  society.  Now,  promiscuous  society 
• — (the  term  is  Mrs.  Baxter's — not  mine)  in  Hamilton, 
although  less  detrimental  to  the  principles,  manners,  and 
conversational  powers  of  unguarded  youth  than  the  same 
foe  would  have  been  in  a  region  more  remote  from  the 


JESSAMINE.  109 

great  humanizing  and  refining  centre  expressed,  to  the 
visual  organs,  bj  the  square,  cream-colored  mansion  at 
the  right  of  the  college  campus — was  yet  inimical  to  the 
best  interests  (another  stolen  phrase !)  of  the  aforesaid 
matriculated  youngsters.  To  counteract  the  evil,  the 
presidential  residence  was  converted,  on  the  evenings 
I  have  designated,  into  a  social  reformatory,  and  the 
mistress  put  forth  her  utmost  energy  to  render  the  process 
of  amelioration  pleasant  to  the  subjects  thereof.  The 
success  of  her  system,  which  had  gone  into  operation  two 
years  before,  had  been  less  than  indifferent  up  to  the 
date  of  her  young  kinswoman's  arrival.  Simultaneously 
with  her  appearance  at  the  pillared  portal  of  the  cream- 
colored  Centre,  the  cause  of  elegant  deportment  and 
colloquial  accomplishments  began  to  look  up  in  the 
contiguous  halls  of  learning.  The  "  reception  "  on  the 
ensuing  Thursday  was  well  attended,  the  second  was  a 
"  crush  " — the  supply  of  lemonade  and  sponge-cake  inade 
quate  to  the  demand. 

This  was  the  third,  and  the  hostess,  elate  with  past,  and 
sanguine  of  prospective,  victories,  had,  with  the  assistance 
of  her  guest,  bedecked  her  rooms  with  New  Year's  gar 
lands  and  floral  legends.  As  an  ingenious  tribute  to  the 
learning  of  the  major  portion  of  the  assembly,  Mrs.  Baxter 
had  accomplished  a  Latinization  of  certain  stock  phrases  of 
welcome,  and  was  immensely  proud  of  the  "  classic  air" 
imparted  to  her  saloon  by  these. 

"  I  suppose  they  are  all  right,"  Jessie  said  dubiously 
to  Orrin,  when  he  inspected  them.  "  My  knowledge  of 
the  dead  tongue  is  confined  to  the  musty  sayings  every 
body  has  learned  by  heart — ( Sic  transit  gloria  mundij 
*  Mirabile  dictuj  and  the  like." 


HO  JESSAMINE. 

"  SALVE!  "  blossomed  into  being  in  heather,  and  pink- 
aud- white  paper  roses  over  the  mantel  opposite  the  door 
of  the  front  parlor.  Over  that  in  the  back — "  Jitbemita 
vos salvere"  while  "  Ofaustum  et  felicem  kunc  diem!  " 
was  tacked  above  the  piano  in  the  music-room. 

"  To  polish !  to  polish  !  "  reiterated  Jessie,  stroking  her 
gloved  left  hand  with  her  right,  and  looking  so  roguishly 
beautiful  that  Orriii  had  no  difficulty  in  throwing  an  ex 
pression  of  intense  admiration  into  his  gaze. 

"  Stand  off,  and  let  me  look  at  you  !  "  said  he,  brusquely 
for  him,  drawing  back  for  a  better  view. 

She  was  well  worth  it.  Native  .quickness,  aided  by 
the  marvellous  intuition  as  to  effect,  and  the  daring  that 
attempts  new  combinations  of  color  and  untried  styles  of 
coiffure  and  dress,  which  people  name  "  French  taste," 
had  wrought  together  in  her  attire.  She  had  a  "  genius 
for  apparel,"  Mrs.  Baxter  pronounced  delightedly,  adding 
"  So  much  for  blood  !  The  Parisian  eye  and  Parisian 
aptitude  are,  like  the  poetic  afflatus,  nascitur,  non  fib. 
You  are  a  true  Lanneau."  There  would  be  no  better- 
dressed  woman  in  the  assembly  to-night  than  the  country 
girl,  whose  toilette  had  yet  cost  less  than  that  of  any 
other  who  laid  claim  to  the  honors  of  belleship. 

Her  maize-colored  tissue  had  a  full  double  skirt ;  the 
upper  looped  with  rosettes  of  black  lace  and  narrow  black 
velvet.  A  bunch  of  fuschias — scarlet  with  purple  hearts, 
drooped  above  her  left  temple.  Not  a  jewel  was  visible 
except  her  engagement-ring — a  fine  solitaire  diamond. 
Instead  of  a  brooch  she  wore  another  spray  of  fuse-bias, 
mixed  with  feathery  green,  at  her  throat,  and  her  only 
laces  were  those  edging  her  neck  and  sleeves.  But  she 
was  dazzling  enough  to  turn  stronger  heads  than  those  of 


JESSAMINE.  11] 

the  sheepish  sophomores,  pert  juniors,  and  priggish 
seniors,  who  would  compose  her  train,  thought  "Wyllys, 
surveying  her  with  the  deliberate  freedom  of  a  brotherly 
friend.  Her  eyes  sparkled  into  splendor,  her  bloom 
deepened,  and  the  white-gloved  fingers  toyed  nervously 
with  her  bouquet  as  his  inspection  was  prolonged.  As 
the  finale,  he  offered  his  arm  with  a  sweeping  obeisance, 
and  they  strolled  through  the  rooms,  untenanted  as  yet 
save  by  themselves. 

"  I  hardly  expected  to  see  that,  to-night,"  said  Orrin, 
touching  her  bouquet.  "  The  utmost  I  hoped  was,  that 
it  might  please  your  eye  for  a  moment,  as  it  passed  in  re 
view  among  a  host  of  others." 

"  There  is  a  degree  of  modesty  which  is  laughable," 
she  returned.  "  Pray,  whose  flowers  did  you  suppose  I 
would  prefer  to  yours?  " 

"  Perhaps  I  feared  the  rivalry  of  the  chaste  assortment 
of  sweet  alysseum  and  white  rose-buds  I  saw  left  at  Pro 
fessor  Fail-child's  door  this  morning." 

"Eminently  suitable  to  my  'style'!"  interrupted  she, 
ironically.  "The  fear  reflects  credit  upon  your  discrimi 
nation — and  my  taste." 

"  Or — "  he  went  on — "  the  astounding  array  of  came- 
Uas,  azaleas,  and  orange-blossoms  that  arrived  last  night, 
duly  enveloped  in  wet  cotton,  sent  per  express  from  the 
green-house  of  a  city  florist  to  the  million naire's  son 
— Senior  Lowndes.  Rumor  affirms  that  he  has  neither 
studied  nor  eaten  since  he  was  first  pierced  by  Cupid's 
arrows — your  eyelids  doing  service  as  bows,  and  the  sight 
of  the  magnificent  offering  which  is  to  propitiate  the  blind 
god,  has  driven  him  clean  daft  with  rapturous  anticipation. 
Seriously  and  frankly,  my  advice  is  that  you  discard  my 


112  JESSAMINE. 

simple  gift  in  favor  of  the  exotics.  I  am  conl3nt — or 
I  should  be — with  the  grace  already  shown  me  by  your  in 
tention  to  give  my  flowers  the  place  of  honor.  But  Mr. 
Lowndes  may  be  offended  if  you  do  not  exhibit  his  Brob- 
dingnagian  bouquet.  It  is  already  the  talk  of  the  place, 
and  everybody  expects  to  see  it  in  your  hands  to-night." 

"  It  will  not  be  everybody's  maiden  disappointment," 
eaid  Jessie,  obstinately.  "  The  floral  behemoth  has  a  big 
vase  and  a  table  all  to  himself  in  the  music-room,  so  Mr. 
Lowndes  can  play  show-man  to  his  satisfaction.  I  reserve 
the  right  of  wearing  what  I  please,  and  my  bouquet  is 
part  of  my  toilette.  Could  anything  harmonize  better 
with  my  dress  than  these  scarlet  verbenas,  divided  from 
the  purple  violets  by  the  circlet  of  white  blossoms,  and 
capped  by  one  snowy  cape-jessamine — like  a  queen  in  her 
ermine  ? " 

"  That  is  the  only  member  of  your  family  to  be  had  in 
this  frozen  region,"  rejoined  Orrin.  "  I  telegraphed  to 
Baltimore  in  the  vain  hope  of  obtaining  the  golden  bells 
you  love." 

"  Did  you  ?  They  do  not  bloom  anywhere  at  this  sea 
son,  I  imagine.  But  your  effort  to  procure  them  was  an 
evidence  of  thoughtful  kindness  beyond  my  expectation 
and  desert.  You  do  too  much  for  me  1  I  am  humbled 
yet  happy  when  I  recount  to  myself  your  favors." 

"  Don't  say  '  favors  ! '     If  you  knew— 

"Knew  what?  "  queried  Jessie,  innocently,  looking  up. 

He  held  her  eyes  for  a  second  by  the  irresistible  mag 
netism  of  his,  then,  saying,  with  a  short  laugh  that 
sounded  like  bitter  self  disdain — "  What  you  will  never 
hear  from  me !  "  commenced  talking  fast  and  ga>ly  about 
other  things. 


JESSAMINE.  113 

Mrs.  Baxter  ran  in,  opportunely,  to  give  Jessie  time  to 
collect  her  thoughts.  Unobservant  of  the  gravity  of  one 
of  the  parties  to  the  broken  dialogue,  and  the  forced 
liveliness  of  the  other,  the  hostess  dashed  into  a  profusely 
illustrated  description  of  the  contretemps  that  had  de 
tained  her  in  her  dressing-room.  It  was  nothing  less 
serious  than  the  doctor's  mistake,  in  taking  from  a  closet 
a  bottle  of  ink  instead  of  the  scented  glycerine  she  asked 
him  to  get. 

"  For  my  tender  skin  (we  Lanneaus  are  deplorably 
thin-skinned)  is  frightfully  chapped  this  winter,  and  there 
is  no  better  remedy  for  this  affliction  than  bay-water  and 
glycerine,  as  perhaps  you  know — you  who  are  ignorant 
of  nothing  !  '  Now,  my  dearest,'  I  said,  '  may  I  trouble 
you  to  pour  it  upon  my  hands  as  I  hold  them  over  the 
basin  ?  Gently,  doctor,  darling  ! '  When,  presto  !  down 
came  an  inky  deluge  ! "  screaming  with  laughter,  as  she 
had  with  alarm  when  the  mischance  had  occurred  "  I 
spent  nearly  an  hour  in  endeavoring  to  efface  the  murky 
stains,  and  I  shall  be  compelled  to  keep  my  gloves  on  the 
antire  evening.  Isn't  it  a  pitiable  predicament?  " 

The  scarlet  scarf  was  on  duty  again  to-night,  but  now 
tied  about  her  waist,  the  knot  at  the  side. 

"  I  never  feel  quite  dressed  unless  I  have  a  speck  of 
scarlet  artfully  brought  into  my  costume,"  she  had  said 
to  Jessie,  on  the  evening  of  her  arrival.  "  It  individual 
izes  my  attire.  I  should  not  know — should  not  be  myself 
without  it." 

Jessie  joined  in  her  merriment  over  the  catastrophe 
that  would  have  angered  a  wife  whose  temper  was  less 
even,  but  her  heart  was  beating  hard  and  hurriedly  with 
vague  alarms.  Orrin  had  altered  inexplicably  of  late. 


I  j  4  JESSAMINE. 

II  is  sudden  alternations  of  spirits  and  mysterious  allusions 
were  more  than  an  enigma — they  were  a  distress  to  her. 

"  If  I  knew  !  "  she  repeated  mentally.  "  What  was  he 
about  to  say,  and  why  did  he  look  at  me  so  intently  1 
Why  did  he  refuse  to  finish  the  sentence?  I  have 
wounded  or  offended  him— but  how  ?  " 

Self-condemnation  was  her  first  impulse  when  she 
noted  a  change  in  the  demeanor  of  those  she  loved. 
Orrin  ridiculed  it  as  a  morbid  trick  of  mind  that  might 
be  cured  by  reproof  or  raillery.  Roy  bore  with  it 
patiently  and  hopefully,  recognizing  in  it  an  hereditary 
strain  of  melancholy  which  she  wrould  conquer  or  outlive 
in  time.  Her  eyes  were  darker,  her  voice  a  tone  lower, 
her  smile  a  trifle  subdued  all  the  evening,  for  the  inci 
dent  that  preceded  the  festivities.  Nobody  complained 
of  the  change.  She  was  new,  handsome,  and  sprightly, 
a  triumvirate  of  recommendations  that  would  have  made 
her  a  star  of  note  among  her  associates  had  her  "  style  " 
been  less  unique,  her  cast  of  thought  and  conversation  as 
commonplace  as  it  was  original.  She  was  surrounded 
continually,  to-night,  by  a  group  of  gentlemen — most  of 
them  young,  while  there  were  some  whose  attentions — 
paid  as  they  were  by  men  of  mature  years  and  high 
standing,  intellectual  and  social — were  a  compliment  of 
which  the  debutante  might  justly  be  proud. 

Orrin  kept  aloof  from  her,  playing  his  part  among  the 
guests  with  his  wonted  spirit  and  grace.  But  his  eyes 
followed  her  furtively  wherever  she  went,  until  she  was 
provoked  with  herself  for  meeting  them  so  often.  He 
would  suspect  her  of  impertinent  curiosity,  accuse  her  of 
forwardness,  or  feel  that  he  was  under  espionage.  She 
would  iiot  look  in  his  direction  again.  A  resolution  she 


JESSAMINE.  115 

was  certain  to  break  within  three  minutes  after  it  was 
made,  tempted  to  the  infraction  by  the  stealthy  yet  pierc 
ing  ray  she  imagined  she  could  feel,  when  her  face  was 
turned  away  from  him,  and  which,  struggle  as  she  might 
against  the  inclination,  drew  her  regards  again  and  again 
in  his  direction. 

She  descried  a  new  meaning  in  his  watchfulness  before 
long, — a  sad  yearning  that  would  not  let  her  out  of  his 
sight ;  mournfulness  that  might  signify  either  compas 
sion  or  regret.  Unused  to  dissemble,  she  must  have 
grown  distrait,  unmindful  of  the  gay  scene  and  the  duties 
it  imposed  upon  her,  but  for  the  example  of  his  fidelity 
in  the  performance  of  these.  Emulating  what  she  plainly 
perceived  was  self-denial  in  him,  she  talked,  promenaded, 
land  laughed  with  conscientious  diligence,  to  the  delight 
bf  her  chaperone  and  the  distraction  of  the  smitten  swains 
of  three  classes,  the  freshmen  counting  as  nobodies. 

The  crowd  was  thinning  fast  when  Orrin  again  ap 
proached  her. 

"  We  will  finish  our  promenade  now  that  there  is  room 
ro  move  and  breathe,"  he  said,  drawing  her  hand  within 
lis  arm.  "  I  want  to  have  a  moment's  talk  with  you  be- 
Fore  I  go.  I  leave  town  early  in  the  morning." 

The  involuntary  clasp  of  the  gloved  fingers  upon  his 
;leeve  was  all  it  should  be,  but  the  deprecating  glance 
md  exclamation  were  too  frank  and  sisterly. 

"  Are  you  going  away  ?  Not  to  be  absent  long,  I 
•:iope  ? " 

"  A  week  certainly — probably  a  fortnight." 

"  I  shall  be  very  lonely  without  you !  absolutely  lost, 
pn  fact !"  replied  Jessie,  feeling  all  she  said. 

"  I  could   stay,  I  suppose — but  I  ought  to  go,"  said 


116  JESSAMINE. 

Orrin,  slowly.  "  Yes,  it  is  the  best  thing  left  for  me  to 
do  1  Don't  think,  however,  that  it  costs  me  nothing  to 
leave  Hamilton  while  you  are  in  it.  I  shall  carry  the 
image  of  my  docile  pupil,  my  bright-faced,  sunny-hearted 
friend,  with  me  wherever  I  go.  You  have  been  a  beauti 
ful  revelation  to  me,  Jessie.  Let  me  speak,  for  a  mo 
ment,  out  of  the  sad  sincerity  of  a  spirit,  wrung  as  I  trust 
yours  will  never  be.  Should  we  never  meet  again  upon 
earth,  you  will  not  cease  to  be  to  me — pshaw  !  what  am  I 
saying  ?  I  talk  wildly  to  you,  I  doubt  not,  but  there  are 
times  of  battle  and  tempest  and  desolation  in  the  which 
incoherence  is  pardonable.  When  you  are  married,  you 
may  be  sorry  for  me  in  a  calm,  sisterly  way,  as  people  onj 
the  cliff  above  the  beat  of  the  surf,  pity  the  wretches 
suffocating  in  the  waves." 

"  Let  me  help  and  comfort  you  now  !  "  begged  Jessie, 
her  tell-tale  eyes  glistening  until  Orrin  was  fain  to  halt, 
before  Mr.  Lowndes'  monster  bouquet  in  the  last  room  of 
the  suite,  and  keep  her  back  to  the  company,  while  slid 
struggled  for  composure.  u  It  breaks  my  heart  to  heaa 
you  !  "  came  at  last  in  a  half  sob  from  the  trembling  lips. 

"Don't  talk  of  breaking  hearts,  dear!"  he  returned, 
smiling  sadly.  "  It  is  an  idle  phrase  in  the  mouths  ol 
the  loved  and  happy.  May  you  always  be  both  ! " 

He  squeezed  her  hands  until  she  winced  with  pain, 
took  one  lingering  look  into  her  eyes  that  seemed  td 
compel  her  soul  to  their  surface,  whispered,  "  GOD  bless 
you !  "  and  before  she  could  move  to  stay  him,  he  waij 
making  his  conge  to  Mrs.  Baxter. 

Regardless  of  the  stranger  and  inquisitive  eyes  that 
might  be  upon  her,  Jessie  watched  the  parting;  tha 
hostess'  dramatic  start,  and  fingers  joined  in  hospitable 


JESSAMINE.  117 

supplication;  the  toning  down  of  her  physiognomy  from 
itragic  consternation,  at  the  announcement  of  his  con- 
jtemplated  journey,  to  plaintive  resignation,  as  he  declared 
the  fixedness  of  his  purpose ;  marked  the  animated 
[pantomime,  and  felt  no  inclination  to  smile  that  it  was 
lover-wrought  to  extravagance.  Assuredly,  Orrin's  going 
(at  all  was  a  serious  discomfort  to  herself.  Taken  in 
jconnection  with  his  evident  unhappiness,  his  disjointed 
jconfessions  of  grief  and  trial,  that,  despite  the  absurdity 
of  the  imagination,  she  could  not  help  believing  had 
Isome  reference  to  her ;  finally,  her  inability  to  soothe 
lor  aid  him, — these  all  combined  to  make  the  farewell  the 
kaddest — save  one — she  had  ever  gone  through. 

"  You  are  weary,  my  dearest  girl !  "  said  Mrs.  Baxter, 
jsympathizingly,  twining  her  arm  around  her  and  pulling 
per  down  upon  the  sofa,  when  she  had  bidden  a  widely 
ijsmiling  adieu  to  all  her  guests,  with  the  exception  of  a 
Jbuld,  mild  man  in  spectacles,  who  was  penned  in  the 
Bangle  formed  by  the  chimney  and  the  wall,  while  the 
idoctor,  planted  in  front  of  him,  held  to  his  argument 
)and  his  handkerchief  at  such  length  that  only  half  the 
jknots  were  yet  untied.  "  But  you  have  been  charming 
jthis  evening  !  have  really  outdone  yourself !  I  prognos 
ticate  a  dazzling  season  for  you — scores  of  conquests  and 
•troops  of  friends." 

"  I  don't  care  for  the  conquests,  but  the  friends  will  be 
welcome  to  one  who  has  so  few,"  returned  Jessie.  "  Not 
ithat  I  have  any  enemies,  but  my  circle  of  acquaintances 
is  small." 

She  tried  to  speak  brightly,  lest  her  dispirited  inood 
•should  reflect  discredit  upon  her  friend's  endeavojs  t<? 
make  her  happy. 


118  JESSAMINE. 

"  It  will  enlarge  rapidly  within  the  next  few  weeks. 
The  prestige  of  Mr.  Wyllys'  approval  and  friendship 
would  ensure  the  success  of  a  debutante  whose  personal 
claims  upon  popular  favor  were  far  inferior  to  yours,  my 
sweet.  I  shall  always  cherish  a  grateful  recollection  of 
his  attentions  to  you,  as  my  relative  and  friend.  It  is  a 
high  compliment,  as  you  would  understand,  were  you 
better  acquainted  with  the  materials  and  structure  of  our 
best  society.  His  influence  in  Hamilton  is  ex-tra-w- 
di-na-ry.  I  have  promised  to  do  my  best  to  fill  his  place 
while  he  is  away,  but  I  am  painfully  conscious  of  my  in 
ability  to  prevent  you  from  missing  him  continually.  He 
was  averse  to  going,  but  said  the  necessity  laid  upon  him 
to  do  so  was  imperious.  lie  was  rather  out  of  spirits,  I 
fancied — but  it  might  be  only  a  fancy.  Doctor,  dear  !  do 
let  Mr.  Barnard  come  to  the  fire  !  The  rooms  are  grow 
ing  chilly,  now  that  they  are  so  nearly  empty." 

"  Empty  !  "  The  doctor  turned  amazed.  "  Where  are 
all  the  people,  Jane  ? " 

Jessie  did  smile  now,  impolite  as  she  feared  it  was,  at 
the  alacrity  with  which  the  mild  victim  wriggled  from 
the  corner  at  the  momentary  diversion  of  his  jailor's 
notice,  muttered  apologetically  to  the  hostess,  and  got 
himself  out  of  the  apartment  and  house. 

"  As  I  was  saying —  "  pursued  the  doctor,  consulting 
his  handkerchief  and  collecting  his  wits — "  my  objection 
to  Darwin's  theory  and  to  the  hypothesis  advanced  by 
Agassiz  is  one  and  the  same.  I  maintain — 

"  Dearest  husband  !  "  interposed  his  wife.  "  Since 
Mr.  Barnard  has  followed  the  rest  of  our  friends,  sup 
pose  we  postpone  the  further  discussion  of  that  poinl 


JESSAMINE.  1 L9 

until   to-morrow.     Jessie  and  I  are  quite  exhausted  by 
the  excitement  of  the  evening." 

Jessie  was  sorry  for  him  as  he  began,  with  a  rueful 
visage,  to  disentangle  his  cambric  and  his  brains. 

u  1  hope  you  have  had  a  pleasant  evening,"  she  said, 
affectionately,  going  up  to  bid  him  "good-night." 

His  eyes  cleared  at  sound  of  the  frank,  sweet  voice, 
and  the  sight  of  her  face.  She  had  never  been  shy  of 
him,  had  understood  him  better  and  sooner  than  young 
girls  did  generally,  and  made  herself  useful  to  him  in 
many  little  ways.  lie  caught  himself  (Breaming,  some 
times,  in  looking  at  and  listening  to  her,  of  what  his  life 
and  home  might  have  been,  if  daughters  of  his  own  had 
graced  and  blessed  it.  Jessie  had  taken  very  kindly, 
on  her  part,  to  the  rustic,  eccentric  scholar.  Roy  had 
made  her  acquainted  with  his  excellences  as  well  as  his 
peculiarities,  and  bespoken  for  him  a  worthy  place  in  her 
regard.  lie  talked  of  "  my  young  friend,  Professor 
Fordham,"  to  her  more  frequently  than  he  was  aware  of, 
won  to  communicativeness  by  her  deep  and  evident  in 
terest  in  the  theme.  She  had  not  thought  it  best,  up  to 
this  time,  to  reveal  her  engagement  to  him  or  to  his 
talkative  spouse,  although  Roy's  last  letter  had  gently 
advised  her  to  do  so,  at  the  first  favorable  opportunity. 
The  doctor  might  let  slip  the  morceau  of  news  in  one  of 
his  fits  of  abstraction,  while  "  Cousin  Jane"  would,  she 
was  sure,  be  in  a  twitter  of  mysterious  importance,  and  de 
sire  to  announce  it  formally  and  publicly.  And  Jessie 
being  new  to  the  fashionable  world,  shrank  from  having 
her  heart-history  gossipped  about.  Pier  conscience  was 
pricked  slightly  now  for  her  want  of  confidence  in 
Roy's  dear  old  co-laborer,  as  he  laid  a  hand  on  either 


120  JESSAMINE. 

Bhoulder,  and  gazed  steadfastly  at  her,  his  hard,  Scotch 
lineaments  softening  into  kindliness  and  paternal  affec 
tion. 

"  You  are  very  handsome,  mv  dear  !  Do  you  know 
it?" 

Jessie  blushed  deeply,  but  she  did  not  laugh  or  bridle, 
and  her  answer  was  straightforward  and  unaffected  as 
was  the  query. 

"  I  have  been  told  so,  sir  !  " 

"  Very  handsome,  but  somewhat  wilful ! "  continuing 
his  physiognomical  examination.  "Undisciplined,  too! 
A  warm  heart,  but  hasty  judgment.  Loving  and  lova 
ble.  A  nature  powerful  for  good  as  for  evil.  My 
daughter !  when  the  crisis  in  your  life  shall  arrive — for 
there  is  a  turning-point  in  every  human  life — hesitate 
long  and  pray  earnestly  that  you  may  be  directed  into 
the  right  path.  If  you  take  the  wrong,  great  woe  will 
ensue  to  yourself  and  others." 

Then,  with  the  grave  simplicity  that   sometimes   in 
vested  the  quaint  little  man  with  dignity  at  which  the  ] 
most  irreverent  could  not  mock,  he  laid  his  withered 
hand  upon  her  head  : 

"  The  LOED  bless  thee  and  keep  thee  ;  make  the  light 
of  His  countenance  to  shine  upon  thee,  and  give  thee 
peace ! " 

After  which  he  kissed  her  between  the  great,  solemn 
eyes,  and  wished  her  "  sound  slumbers  and  happy 
dreams." 

"  It  seems  a  ridiculous  thing  when  it  is  put  into  words, 
but  it  reminded  me  of  the  way  Roy  used  to  say  '  Good 
night,'  last  summer,  at  the  close  of  our  happiest  even- 
ingi !"  thought  Jessie,  on  hei  way  upstairs,  a  mist  betweea 


JESSAMINE.  121 

ier  and  the  glittering  stair-rods.     "  Oil  I  I  ought  to  be  a 
rood  woman ! " 

Too  much  excited  by  this  little  episode,  or  the  othor 
events  of  the  evening,  to  sleep,  Jessie  sat  down  by  her 
;hamber-fire,  when  she  had  donned  her  dressing-gown, 
md  unbound  the  hair  that  oppressed  her  head  by  its 
weight  of  braids.  She  had  kept  up  her  Parsonage  habit 
)f  reading  a  portion  of  Scripture  before  retiring  each 
light,  and  her  Bible  lay  upon  her  knee  now — but  un 
opened.  She  was  heavy-hearted,  notwithstanding  Mrs. 
Baxter's  congratulations  and  predictions. 

Was  it  home-sickness  that  painted  the  images  of  her 
Father  and  Eunice  in   the  fiery  bed  of  coals  filling  her 
^rate  ?  that  showed  her,  in  the  violet-tinted  flames  quiv- 
3ring  above  the  ignited  mass,  her  chamber  in  the  manse 
among  the  hills ;  her  mother's  portrait  over  the  white 
tent  bedstead ;  her  mother's  escritoire,  between  the  win- 
lows,  that   contained  Roy's    letters  ?     Was  she  already 
ired  of  the  life  that  had  been  so  pleasant  four  hours 
igo?     Was    this   dissatisfaction  with  herself  and  those 
,vith  whom  she  had  talked  and  laughed  within  that  time, 
satiety  or  chagrin  ?     She  had  enjoyed  every  moment  of 
ier  visit  heretofore,  with  the  avidity  of  a  novice  in  the 
cenes  to  which  her  cousin's   kindness  had  introduced 
'ier ;  the  rides  with  Mrs.  Baxter ;  the  walks  with  Orrin, 
nd  the  Hamilton  girls  who  had  extended  to  her  a  hearty 
nd  generous  welcome  ;  the  parties,  lectures,  and  concerts 
had  attended ;  the  German  and  music  lessons ;  the 
ooks  she  read  aloud  to  Mrs.  Baxter,  and  those  Orrin  had 
aad  to  them  both  on  the  delightful  stormy  nights  that 
ept  other  callers  away  ;  had  caught  eagerly  at  Fanny 
rovost's  offer  to  teach  her   billiards,  and  Orrin's  pro- 


122  JESSAMINE. 

posal  that  she  should  learn  to  skate.  In  fact,  the  day  and 
evening  had  been  so  crowded  with  occupation,  recreation, 
and  incident,  as  to  leave  her  scanty  space  for  letters  to 
Dundee,  and  oblige  her  to  steal  hours  from  sleep  that  she 
might  live  her  enjoyments  over  in  describing  them  to 
Buy.  She  had  studied  faithfully,  too,  and  successfully 
under  Orriii's  direction,  and  spurred  on  by  his  encour 
agement.  She  was  sure  she  could  never  learn  so  rapidly 
and  zestfully  again.  Life  seemed  such  hard  and  dreary 
labor. 

She  wished  herself  back  in  the  quiet  Parsonage,  where 
the  evening's  talk,  music,  or  reading  was  seldom  inter 
rupted  by  neighbors  or  strangers;  where  one  day  went 
by  like  every  other,  within  doors;  where,  on  snowy  af 
ternoons,  the  ticking  of  the  hall-clock  could  be  heard  all 
through  the  house — by  Patsey  in  the  kitchen  ;  by  Mr. 
Kirke  in  his  study ;  by  Eunice,  sewing  in  her  room 
overlooking  the  church-yard  ;  most  distinctly  by  herself 
as  she  read,  drew,  or  wrote  in  her  favorite  oriel,  or,  in 
the  twilight,  walked  up  and  down  the  parlor,  dreaming 
visions  that  put  winter  and  gloom  to  flight — dreams  of 
Roy's  return  and  their  united  lives.  Wished  herself 
'./aek,  if  she  couid  be  once 'more  the  girl  who  had  left' 
home  six  weeks  ago.  She  forgot  that  latterly  she  had 
sickened  there  in  mind  and  body,  under  the  strain  of  her 
grief  at  Roy's  absence,  and  the  pressure  of  her  self- 
imposed  tasks,  unrelieved  by  the  diversions  needful  for  a 
girl  of  her  age  and  temperament.  That  life  seemed  such 
a  safe,  wholesome  one — simple,  pure,  pastoral.  It  beck 
oned  her  as  might  a  living  friend,  beloved  and  trusted, 
She  verily  believed,  after  the  fashion  of  young  and  ig 
norant  dreamers,  who  take  to  misanthropic  reverie  at 


JESSAMINE.  123 

the  first  blast  of  disappointment,  as  a  frightened  deer  to 
the  water,  that  she  had  exhausted  the  pleasures  of  exist 
ence  ;  had  proved  the  gay  world,  and  found  it  all  "  hol 
low,  hollow,  hollow" — the  while  she,  a  blase  cynic,  could 
never  return  to  relishful  participation  in  the  innocent 
joys  that  had  once  satisfied  her. 

The  touch  of  Dr.  Baxter's  hand  was  yet  warm  upon 
her  head  ;  the  grave  accents  of  his  admonition  and  bless 
ing  had  scarcely  left  her  ear,  but  she  had  no  thought 
that  the  predicted  crisis  was  upon  her ;  that  her  feet 
stood  upon  the  very  point  where  turning  was  to  be  bless 
ing  or  curse.  No !  she  was  fatigued  in  body,  unsettled 
in  spirits.  The  eccentric  doctor's  warning  had  joined  to 
the  reaction  succeeding  the  excitement  of  the  clay,  to 
put  her  out  of  conceit  with  her  present  mode  of  life — 
and  Orrin  Wyllys  was  to  be  out  of  town  for  a  fort 
night. 

This  was  the  diagnosis  she  made  of  her  discontent 
after  an  hour's  melancholy  lucubration  over  the  restless 
tongues  of  flame,  and  their  scarlet  substratum.  All  her 
causes  of  discomfort  were  absurd  and  childish  vagaries, 
she  said,  severely, — excepting  the  last.  And  oh !  of 
course,  the  separation  from  Roy  !  Orrin's  absence  would 
make  her  feel  this  the  more — would  be  an  actual  trial. 
For  was  he  not  the  oldest  and  best  friend  she  had  in 
America,  outside  of  Dundee  ?  She  had  thought  much, 
tenderly,  and  regretfully,  since  she  had  become  so  de 
pendent  upon  Orrin's  kindly  ofiices,  of  her  own  dead 
brother — the  day-old  baby  whom  she  had  never  seen ; 
who  would,  had  he  lived,  have  been  to  her  all  that  her 
brotherly  friend  was — and  more,  if  that  were  possible. 
She  had  mourned  that  little  baby  always.  It  is  natural 


124:  JESSAMINE. 

for  girls  to  \\ant  an  older  brother  upon  whom  to  lean  ixr 
protection  and  guidance.  She  had  not  guessed  what  a 
comfort  and  joy  such  would  be  to  her  until  Roy's  adopted 
brother  had,  in  some  degree,  supplied  this  need.  She 
had  seen  him  every  day  since  her  arrival  in  Hamilton, 
and  each  interview  had  strengthened  her  regard  and  ad 
miration  for  him.  His  interest  in  her  studies,  her  amuse 
ments,  her  health — in  all  that  went  to  make  up  the  sum 
of  her  earthly  happiness,  was  marked  and  unvarying.  A 
brother  in  blood  could  not  have  been  kinder,  more 
thoughtful,  in  providing  whatever  could  increase  her 
comfort  or  contribute  to  her  pleasure.  She  had  learned 
to  expect  his  coming  on  the  evenings  she  spent  at  home  ; 
to  watch  for  glimpses  of  his  figure  in  a  crowd  of  unfa 
miliar  forms  and  faces ;  to  refer  doubtful  questions  to 
his  arbitrament,  and  appeal  to  his  sympathy  in  her 
moments  of  sadness  and  anxiety.  In  fine,  he  had  gained 
what  may  be  called  Cupid's  best  vantage-ground — lie  had 
rendered  himself  necessary  to  her  enjoyment  and  peace 
of  mind.  His  going  made  a  void  in  her  daily  life  and  in 
her  heart. 

Although  romantic  and  immature,  she  was  not  weak 
or  mawkish.  Therefore,  she  did  not  repeat — "  I  never 
loved  a  tree  or  flower,"  as  she  ended  her  musings  with  a 
sigh  to  the  memory  of  the  student  in  foreign  lands,  and 
for  him  to  whom  she  had  that  night  said  a  tearful 
"  Good-bye."  But  she  remembered  both  in  her  prayers. 
If  she  named  Orrin  with  more  earnestness  than  breathed 
in  her  petitions  for  Ro}7's  welfare,  it  was  because  she  be 
lieved  his  present  need  of  comfort  to  be  greater.  The 
very  mystery  veiling  the  cause  of  his  unhappiness,  led  her 
to  dwell  upon  the  subject  longer  and  more  interestedly 


JESSAMINE.  125 

than  if  lie  had  confided  to  her  the  nature  of  the  trouble 
he  was  in. 

With  the  morrow  came  a  note. 

"DEAR  JESSIE: — I  am  scribbling  this  before  sunrise 
oil  this  dark  morning,  to  ask  your  forgiveness  for  my 
abruptness  and  moodiness  last  night.  I  puzzled — maybe, 
pained  you — kind  heart  that  you  are !  Do  not  let  a 
thought  of  my  unhappiness  mar  the  brightness  of  your 
existence,  now  or  ever.  If  you  cannot  think  of  me  with 
out  sadness,  forget  me.  I  could  bear  that  better  than 
the  thought  that  I  had  distressed  you.  Believe  me  you 
have  no  truer  friend  than  he  who  signs  himself  in  soi 
rowf  ul  sincerity, 

"  Yours  faithfully, 

"  OKKIN  WYLLYS." 

"  Doesn't  he  mean  to  write  to  me  while  he  is  away  ? " 
said  Jessie,  after  reading  the  ten  lines  through  twice, 
wonderingly  and  attentively.  "  lie  is  evidently  in  grea' 
trouble.  If  I  could  only  help  him  !  " 

If  he  meant  her  to  forget  him,  he  had  taken  extraordi 
nary  measures  to  secure  this  end.  At  six  o'clock,  every 
evening,  a  bouquet  was  left  at  Mrs.  Baxter's  door  foi 
Miss  Jessie  Kirke.  Mr.  Wyllys'  card  accompanied  the 
first.  The  rest  needed  no  other  label  than  the  snow-white 
cape  jessamine,  that,  lurk  in  whatever  ambush  of 
greenery  and  bloom  it  might,  was  instantly  betrayed  by 
its  subtle  aroma. 

Eight  days  went  by  more  laggingly  than  Jessie  had 
believed  time  could  pass  in  Hamilton,  and  Eunice's 
weekly  bulletin  of  home  news  announced  that  Dundee 
had  been  honored  by  Mr.  Wyllys'  presence. 


126  JESSAMINE. 

"He  spent  the  Sabbath  with  ns,v  wrote  she.  "  It  waa 
a  pleasant  dajr  to  us  all.  Mr.  Wyllys  kindlv  took  ray 
place  as  organist  in  church,  and  played  with  even  more 
than  his  usual  taste  and  feeling.  His  news  of  you  would 
of  itself  have  made  him  a  welcome  guest.  His  report  of 
your  health,  sports,  and  progress  in  your  studies  was  very 
favorable.  He  says,  moreover,  that  Mrs.  Baxter  will  not 
consent  to  give  you  up  before  Spring.  Do  not  abridge 
your  stay,  for  fear  we  shall  be  lonely  without  you.  "We 
miss  you,  of  course,  but  we  are  consoled  for  the  pain  of 
separation,  by  the  knowledge  that  you  are  improving  in 
health  and  enjoying  social  and  educational  advantages 
such  as  our  secluded  valley  cannot  furnish. 

"  I  enclose  a  letter  L~^m  Roy,  directed,  as  usual,  under 
cover  to  Father.  In  the  accompanying  note,  he  alludes 
to  his  gratification  at  learning  that  you  are  so  pleasantly 
situated  and  happily  employed  this  winter.  We  are  glad 
that  he  is  heartily  in  favor  of  the  important  step  we 
ventured  to  take  without  waiting  to  consult  him. 

"  I  wish  you  could  see  your  oriel  now.  Our  flowers 
have  flourished  this  winter  as  they  never  did  before.  The 
Daphnes  are  in  full  bloom.  The  Stephanotis  is  almost  en 
cumbered  by  buds,  and  the  fragrant  petunias  and  double 
nasturtiums  (the  seed  of  which  Mr.  "\Vyllys  gave  me  in 
the  Fall)  are  thriving  bravely,  the  latter  climbing  rapidly. 

"  Our  excellent  neighbors  are  very  kind  and  attentive," 
etc.,  etc. 

Jessie  re-read  this  letter  when  she  had  finished  Roy's ; 
perused  it  with  a  half  smile  that  was  more  mournful 
than  amused,  and  an  odd  stricture  about  her  heart. 
Eunice's  round  of  duties  and  pleasures  seemed  to  her 
like  something  she  had  passed — outgrown  ages  since ;  yet 


JESS  AM  WE.  127 

there  was,  far  down  in  her  spirit,  a  piteous  longing 
for  those  gone  days.  She  might  be  wiser — she  was  not 
better  or  happier  for  the  glimpses  lately  granted  her  of 
a  world  of  stormy  and  contending  passions  and  mixed 
motives. 

"  He  spent  the  Sabbatli  with  us !  "  she  read  aloud. 
"  And  I  was  not  at  home !  He  said  nothing  to  me  of  his 
intention  to  visit  Dundee.  Since  he  has  changed  his 
plans  in  one  respect,  he  may  in  another,  and  be  absent 
three  or  four  weeks  instead  of  two.  Ileigho  !  " 

She  folded  up  her  sister's  letter,  and  addressed  herself 
very  slowly  to  the  task  of  getting  read}7  for  a  party  at 
Judge  Provost's — the  great  house  of  the  town.  It  was 
given  in  honor  of  a  niece  of  his,  who  was  visiting  his 
daughter,  and  was  to  be  a  grand  affair.  Jessie  had 
never  attended  one  half  so  fine,  but  she  was  ennuyee  in 
anticipation. 

"  There  will  be  the  stock  company  of  beaux,"  she  med 
itated.  "  The  one  unmarried  professor ;  the  ten  almost 
marriageable  seniors,  and  the  ten  utterly  ineligible  ones, 
who  are  without  beards  or  moneyed  capital ;  the  whole 
army  (I  had  nearly  said  '  herd ')  of  juniors  and  sopho 
mores  ;  the  dozen  or  fifteen  gentlemen  detailed  for  the  oc 
casion  from  the  doctors'  and  lawyers'  offices,  and  the  higher 
rank  of  tradespeople  in  Hamilton.  There  will  be  danc 
ing  in  one  parlor,  and  small-talk  in  another ;  promenading 
in  the  halls  and  billiard-room ;  flirtations  in  all  stages 
among  the  oleanders  and  lemon-trees  of  the  conservatory. 

O  tf'* 

and  a  "  jam  " — not  sweet — in  the  supper-room.  As  a 
clergyman's  daughter  and  the  guest  of  a  clergyman's 
wife,  I  must  not  dance  in  public.  I  am  sick  to  nausea 
of  callow  collegians  and  small-talk,  and  I  don't  care  for 


128  JESSAMINE. 

late  suppers  of  indigestible  dainties.  I  would  rather 
spend  the  evening  with  Mariana  in  the  moated  grange, 
for  that  mopish  damsel  would  let  me  sit  still  and  sulk  if 
I  wanted  to.  And  I  believe  I  do ! " 

"  A  little  more  tire,  my  love  !  "  whispered  Mrs.  Baxter 
in  the  dressing-room,  affecting  to  be  busy  in  shaking  out 
Jessie's  pink  silk  drapery.  "  I  have  a  presentiment  that 
you  are  to  meet  your  fate  to-night.  But  you  must  posi 
tively  exert  yourself  to  seem  less  quiet  and  preoccupied. 
Repose  and  lofty  indifference  are  considered  well-bred, 
and  are  a  very  safe  role  for  the  commonplace  to  adopt. 
But  they  are  unbecoming  to  us" 

The  novice  did  her  best  to  throw  light  into  her  eyes 
and  warmth  into  her  complexion.  Being  a  novice,  the 
attempt  was  a  failure;  but  Mrs.  Baxter,  perceiving  that 
ignorance,  not  obstinacy,  hindered  the  desired  effect,  for 
bore  to  hint  that,  in  spite  of  Jessie's  elegant  attire  and 
becoming  coiffure^  she  had  never  seen  her  look  worse. 
Trusting  to  the  animating  influences  of  the  festive  scene 
to  restore  that  which  friendly  expostulation  had  proved 
inefficient  to  recall,  she  committed  her  to  the  officious 
homage  of  young  Lowndes,  and  turned  her  attention  to 
the  part  she  was  herself  to  play  in  the  evening's  drama. 

"What  a  magnificent  creature  your  niece  is,  Mrs. 
Baxter;  or  is  she  a  cousin?"  said  an  elderly  gentleman 
— also  one  of  the  judge's  visitors — to  her,  at  length. 

The  pleased  and  amiable  chaperone  looked  over  her 
shoulder,  directed  by  his  gaze,  just  in  time  to  see  Jessio 
pass,  treading  as  if  on  air ;  her  eyes  luminous  orbs  of 
rapture ;  her  cheeks  like  the  inner  foldings  of  a  damask 
rose ;  her  lips  apart  in  a  smile,  sweet  und  happy,  and  her 
hand  on  Orrin  Wyllys'  arm. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

ND  you  have  really  been  to  Dundee ! "  Jessie 
was  saying,  unconscious  that  she  was  clinging  to 
Mr.  Wyllys'  arm — very  slightly,  but  perceptibly 
to  him,  with  the  glad  hold  of  one  to  whom  some 
thing  dear  and  rare  has  been  restored.  "  Was  this 
a  part  of  the  original  plan  of  your  journeyings?" 

"  No, — but  my  business  led  me  within  sight  of  Old 
Windbeam — ('a  frosty  pow  '  his  is,  just  now!) — and  it 
acted  upon  me  as  did  the  Iron  Mountain  of  the  Arabian 
Nights  upon  the  hapless  ships  that  approached  it.  It 
drew  out  the  nails  of  doubt  as  to  the  best  course  for  me 
to  pursue ;  the  screws  of  resolution  not  to  be  turned  aside 
by  memories  of  the  Past  and  the  allurements  of  the 
Present.  To  be  brief — I  collapsed  utterly!  took  the 
afternoon  train  to  Dundee,  and  passed,  in  that  retreat 
from  briefs  and  busybodies,  the  happiest  Sabbath  I  have 
known  since  last  August." 

"Euna  wrote  to  me  about  it-— the  lovely,  precise  old 


130  JESSAMINE. 

darling!  She  never  indulges  in  extravagances  upon  any 
subject,  but  her  concise  sentences  mean  much,  and  these 
said  how  she  enjoyed  the  day — and  your  music.  I  was 
envious  of  her,  when  I  read  of  it — just  for  a  moment,  of 
course.  I  have  seen  so  much  of  you  this  winter  it 
seemed  mean  and  selfish  in  me  to  grudge  her  one  day  of 
like  pleasure." 

"  Envy  so  groundless  could  not  but  be  evanescent," 
said  Orrin,  with  admirable  gravity.  "  But  tell  me  about 
yourself.  What  have  you  been  doing  while  I  was 
away  ? " 

"  Cultivating  envy,  as  I  said — and,  I  am  not  positive, 
but  wrath  and  all  nncharitableness,  as  well.  Who  is  it 
that  confesses  to  an  instant  uprising  of  all  that  is  wicked 
in  his  nature  at  the  approach  of  trouble,  while  visible 
blessing  always  moves  him  to  thankful  piety?  I  am 
afraid  I  am  similarly  constituted.  I  have  been  dull  and 
'dumpish'  for  a  week  and  more;  choosing  to  quarrel 
with  the  three  peas  under  the  fourteen  feather-beds, 
rather  than  enjoy  the  good  that  is  certainly  mine.  You 
see  I  also  am  versed  in  fairy-lore." 

"I  remember  that  the  disguised  princess,  at  being 
asked  why  she  was  haggard  in  the  morning  after  the 
night  spent  in  the  forester's  cabin,  betrayed  her  gentle 
breeding  by  complaining  of  the  lumps  in  her  mountainous 
couch.  Fourteen  feather-beds  !  Think  of  it !  To  sleep 
amid  the  waves  of  one  of  the  Dutch  abominations  is 
enough  to  engender  dyspepsia,  apoplexy,  and  spleen.  But 
what  were  the  three  peas  in  your  bed  of  roses  ?  " 

"  It  has  rained  four  days  out  of  eight,  my  Germany 
letter  was  behind  time — and  I  missed  my  brother-cousin 
at  every  turn,"  responded  Jessie  bravely,  vexed  that 


JESSAMINE.  131 

anything  ir  the  enumeration  should  make  her  cheek  put 
on  the  sudden  flame  of  poppies. 

"  Two  valid  and  sufficient  reasons  for  enngi  !  AH  for 
the  third,  and  notably  the  least  of  all,  I  thank  you  for  the 
welcome  implied  by  it.  I  have  missed  yon,  Jessie ! " 

"  But  not  as  I  have  you ! "  was  the  ingenuous  response. 
"  1  have  been  homesick,  dismal,  disagreeable, — horrid  gen 
erally.  But  I  spare  you  the  recapitulation.  I  am  very, 
very  happy  that  you  are  back  again  in  health,  and," — fal 
tering  a  little, — "  in  better  spirits,  than  when  you  left  us." 

"  Mr.  Wyllys !  "  interrupted  a  consequential  personage 
— a  young-old  bachelor.  "  Excuse  me,  Miss  Kirke,  but 
this  is  business  of  importance  ! " 

He  spoke  a  sentence  aside  to  Orriri,  who  replied  briefly 
in  the  same  tone. 

"  Mr.  Hurst  is  acting  as  master  of  ceremonies  to-night, 
comme  d  V ordinaire"  observed  Wyllys,  moving  on  with 
hi 5  companion.  "How  will  Hamilton  parties  get  on  af 
ter  he  dies — or  marries-— I  wonder  ?  There  has  been  an 
addition  to  the  ranks  of  fashion  during  my  absence,  I 
ihul.  I  had  hardly  finished  my  bow  to  Mrs.  and  Miss 
Provost,  when  Warren  Provost  presented  me  forcibly  to 
Miss  Sauford.  1  learned,  before  I  went  three  steps  far 
ther,  that  this  party  is  given  to  Miss  Sanford,  and  nc  «v 
Mr.  Hurst  tells  me  that  I  am  expected,  presently,  to 
iance  with  Miss  Sanford.  Who  is  Mbs  Sanford  ?  " 

Jessie  comprehending,  at  once,  that  he  shunned  further 
reference  to  the  state  of  his  spirits  at  their  parting,  fol 
lowed  his  lead  away  from  the  subject,  with  alacrity. 

"  Miss  Sanford  is  the  daughter  of  Judge  Provost's  sis 
ter,  and  such  an  heiress !  An  American  Miss  Burdett 
Coutts,  if  half  the  stories  in  circulation  about  her  be  true. 


132  JESSAMINE. 

She  is  the  only  child  of  a  five-millionaire,  and  has,  be 
sides,  a  million  in  her  own  right,  inherited  from  her 
mother.  Pgor  thing!  what  a  nuisance  it  must  be  to  be 
so  horribly  rich ! "  commented  the  country  girl  who 
thought  herself  wealthy  with  her  mother's  wedding- 
portion  of  ten  thousand  dollars,  carefully  husbanded  by 
her  father  against  her  majority  or  marriage. 

"  If  another  woman  than  Jessie  Kirke  had  said  that,  I 
should  have  supposed  she  was  in  jest,"  said  Orrin.  "  I 
believe  you  mean  what  yon  say.  But  why  ?  Many  and 
sweet  are  the  uses  of  money." 

"  Why  do  I  regard  it  as  a  misfortune  for  a  woman  to 
be  immensely  rich  ?  Because  she  can  never  be  sure  of 
true  friend  or  lover.  Because  she  seldom  escapes  one  of 
two  evils,  dupedom  or  misanthropy.  It  must  be  almost 
an  impracticable  task  for  a  great  heiress  to  satisfy  herself 
that  she  is  not  wooed  pour  les  beaux  yeux  de  ses  ecus." 

"  But  if  there  are  no  other  beaux  yeux  in  the  case — her 
own  being,  we  will  say,  leaden — should  she  not  congratu 
late  herself  that  she  has  one  talisman  that  will  win  atten 
tion  and  regard  ? " 

"  Regard  ! "  echoed  Jessie,  incredulously. 

"  And  why  not  ?  She  typifies  bank  stock,  real  estate, 
ready  money,  to  the  adorer  of  these.  He  worships  them, 
it  is  true,  but  through  her,  as  discriminating  Romanists 
try  to  make  us  believe  that  they  adore  the  Virgin 
Mary  by  the  help  of  her  images." 

"  And  as  Dr.  Baxter  told  me,  the  other  day,  Aaron  and  his 
crew  of  apostate  ingrates  bowed  down  to  the  molten  calf — 
as  the  representative  of  the  Egyptian  Apis,"  put  in  Jessie, 
sarcastically.  "  If  a  woman  can  content  herself  with  that 
sort  of  worship,  put  herself  on  a  par  with  the  goose  that 


JESSAMINE.  133 

laid   the   golden   egg,  she  wants   neither   affection   nor 
pity." 

"  Yet  I'll  warrant  that  the  famous  goose  preened  her 
self  alongside  of  the  most  gorgeous  peacock  in  the  barn 
yard  ;  accounted  herself  the  equal  of  the  stateliest  swans 
There  are  as  many  purse-proud  women  as  men.     Milli<m 
naires  of  both  sexes  do  not  scorn  the  court  paid  to  theii 
money  through  themselves.     On  the  contrary,  they  would 
be  piqued  and  offended  if  their  dollars  were  not  duly  ap 
preciated.      Novels  and  sentimentalists  tell  us  that  the 
unhappy  possessors   of   princely  fortunes    desire    to  be 
loved  and  sought  for  their  intrinsic  virtues,  whereas  the 
great  mass — especially  of  women — who  are  wedded  for 
their  riches,  are  quite  alive  to  the  truth  that  this  is  so,  and 
are  far  from  being  wounded  thereby.     They  are  neither 
dupes  nor  misanthropes,  but  sensible  practical  bodies  who 
regard  their  property  as  a  part  of  themselves — soul  of 
their  soul — and  unhesitatingly  appropriate  all  the  advan 
tages  it  buys,  pluming  themselves,  as  a  rule,  upon  their 
ability  to  command  service  and  fidelity.     You  shake  yom 
head?     Let  me  illustrate  from  real  life.     I  was  talking, 
some  time  ago,  with  a  married  lady  whom  nobody  had 
ever,  in  my  hearing,  called  weak-minded,  even  behind  her 
back.     I  had  known  her  for  many  years,  and  she  opened 
up  her  mind  to  me  freely,  with  regard  to  her  courtship 
by,  and  marriage  to,  the  man  of  her  choice.     '  I  feared,  at 
one  time,  that  I  had  lost  him  forever,'  she  said.     '  He 
was  quite  assiduous  in  his  attention  to  another  young  lady 
who  was  pretty,  elegant,  and  accomplished.     I  was  very 
unhappy,  for  he  had  never  declared  his  intentions  to  me. 
But  she  had  not  money  enough  to  suit  his  notions  of  the 
fitness  of  things,' — I  quote  literally.     '  So  he  came  back 


JESSAMINS. 

to  me.  Wasn't  I  thankful  then  that  my  dear  father  had 
provided  for  me  handsomely  and  thus  secured  my  happi 
ness  for  life  ? '" 

"  A  clever  anecdote — considering  it  is  impromptu  !  " 
said  wilful  Jessie,  with  an  air  of  superb  disbelief.  "  If 
I  could  credit  it,  and  you — 

"  You  would  cease  to  commiserate  heiresses  !  "  finished 
Wyllys.  u  For  myself,  I  have  an  antipathy  to  the  whole 
class.  All  whom  I  have  had  the  misery  of  knowing 
were  sordid,  self-conceited,  and  rapacious  of  admiration 
to  a  degree  that  passed  understanding  and  disgust." 

He  dropped  his  voice,  for  the  crowd  immediately  about 
them  had  grown  still  and  attentive. 

Miss  Sanford  was  going  to  sing.  Jessie  and  her  escort 
chanced  to  be  near  the  piano,  and  had  a  fine  view  of  her 
as  she  was  led  to  the  instrument  by  an  am bi tic  as  senior, 
whom  she  loaded  down  with  her  bouquet,  gloves,  fan, 
handkerchief,  and  gold  vinaigrette.  She  was  probably 
about  twenty-five  years  of  ao-e,  but  this  was  a  difficult 

«/  t/  c*     J 

point  to  determine  from  her  appearance  ;  her  hair,  eye 
brows,  and  complexion  being  so  light,  that,  as  Jessie 
afterwards  said  to  Mrs.  Baxter,  she  looked  as  if  she  might 
have  lain  for  forty-eight  hours  in  a  bath  of  caustic  soda 
and  water — the  preliminary  process  in  the  preparation  of 
the  phantom  bouquets  the  President's  lady  was  skilled  in 
arranging.  Miss  Sanford  was  thin  and  bony.  "Scrag 
gy,"  one  would  have  termed  her,  had  she  belonged  to  the 
so-called  inferior  animals.  Her  eyes  were  a  pale,  fixed 
blue,  like  those  of  a  china  doll ;  her  lips  met  scantily  over 
teeth  that  were  unpleasantly  prominent ;  she  had  a  re 
ceding  chin,  a  sharp  nose,  and  a  low  forehead.  A  homely, 
ahrewish-looking  girl  to  the  uuinstructed  eye.  Yet  her 


JESSAMINE.  135 

air  showed  that  she  was  accustomed  to  receive  court  from 
the  sophisticated  multitude,  the  many  who  were  awaka 
to  the  fact  that  she  was  the  undoubted  mistress  of  charma 
not  to  be  adequately  expressed  by  less  than  seven  figures. 
Her  dress  was  a  walking  advertisement  of  her  pretensions 
to  this  intelligent  homage,  being  mauve  satin,  flounced 
with  point  lace.  It  was  cut  too  low  upon  the  flat  chest 
and  prominent  shoulder-blades,  but  the  region  thus  left 
bare  was  made  interesting  to  feminine  eyes  by  a  magnifi 
cent  diamond  necklace.  Bracelets  to  match  loaded  her 
meagre  wrists,  and  were  pushed  up  ostentatiously  before 
she  put  her  fingers  upon  the  key-board,  with  a  coquettish 
grimace  at  her  cavalier. 

"  I  don't  sing  ballads,"  Jessie  and  Orrin  heard  her  say, 
tossing  her  head  one-sidedly — a  frequent  trick  with  her, 
since  it  set  her  ear-rings  to  dancing  until  the  precious 
stones  seemed  to  emit  sparks  of  real  fire.  "  Ballad  music 
is  considered  so  low  in  refined  circles.  I  have  never  cul 
tivated  any  but  the  classical  style — operas,  you  know, 
bravuras  and  arias,  and  all  that,  you  know.  Let  me  treat 
you  to  my  favorite — just  tlie  sweetest  thing  you  overheard, 
from  La  Traviata.  I  perfectly  dote  upon  it ! " 

She  played  a  thumping  prelude  and  accompaniment  in 
villainous  time ;  her  voice  was  shallow  and  shrill ;  she 
made  audacious  dashes  at  trills  and  cadenzas,  her  feeble 
pipe  breaking  down  upon  the  ascending,  and  breaking  up 
upon  the  descending  scale.  A  more  lamentable  and  wit 
less  travestie  of  operatic  execution  could  hardly  have  been 
conceived  of.  The  Italian  words  were  made  a  thing  of 
no  account  whatever. 

"  Her  resources  are  wonderful," said  Orrin,  undercover 
of  the  buzz  of  compliments  and  thanks  that  succeeded  the 


136  JESSAMINE. 

song.  "  When  she  forgot  what  came  next  she  substituted 
something  of  her  own  composition — in  the  Kaffir  dialect, 
I  think — with  a  readiness  and  coolness  truly  astounding. 
Honor  bright,  now,"  laughing  down  mischievously  into 
his  companion's  eyes — "  what  has  this  little  scene  remind 
ed  you  of — something  you  have  hitherto  viewed  as  a  cari 
cature  ? " 

"  I  won't  tell  you  ! " 

But  Jessie's  face  was  alive  with  fun.  It  might  not  be 
— it  certainly  was  not  altogether  kind  or  well-bred  in  her 
to  join  in  ridiculing  the  host's  niece,  but  it  was  "  only  Or- 
rin,"  and  so  long  as  his  comments  were  for  her  ear  alone, 
no  harm  was  done. 

"  You  need  not !  Miss  Swartz  has  arisen  above  such 
1  low  style  '  as  '  Blue-eyed  Mary  '  and  '  That  Air  from  the 
Cabinet,'  but  she  can  still  '  sing  Fluvy  du  Tajy  if  she  had 
the  words.'  Indeed,  being  bent  upon  fascination,  she 
sings  it,  words  or  no." 

He  had  found  Jessie  and  Mrs.  Baxter  deep  in  "Vanity 
Fair"  one  evening,  had  taken  the  book  and  read  aloud 
several  chapters,  including  "The  quarrel  about  an  heiress." 

"  Yet  you  will  not  let  me  say,  '  Poor  Miss  Swartz ! ' ' 
said  Jessie. 

"  Certainly  not.  She  is  in  Paradise.  Reserve  your 
pity  for  me,  who  am  doomed  to  ask  her  to  waltz  so  soon 
as  this  part  of  the  exhibition  is  over.  Hark  !  another 
sweet  selection !  This  time  from  Der  Freiscliutz — 
Agatha's  prayer,  done  into  boarding-school  German 
patois,  varied  by  the  amazing  improvisations  aforesaid. 
For  Heaven's  sake!  come  away  into  the  conservatory. 
Even  '  when  music,  heavenly  maid,  was  very  young,'  a 
baby  in  the  cradle,  she  never  squalled  like  that ! " 


JESSAMINE.  137 

Jessie  could  not  help  laughing  at  his  whimsical  impa 
tience.  Mirth  came  easily  to-night.  The  surprise  and 
joy  of  her  friend's  return  had  exhilarated  her.  The 
very  freedom  of  his  comments  upon  others  made  her 
feel  the  entireness  of  their  mutual  confidence.  His 
talking  to  her  in  this  strain  was  a  direct  compliment 
to  her  discretion.  It  was  delightful  to  see  him  gay  once 
more — to  believe  that  his  light  rattle  was  the  overflow 
of  a  heart  as  full  and  happy  as  her  own. 

lie  lingered  with  her  in  the  conservatory  until  the  in 
defatigable  Mr.  Hurst  came  to  hunt  him  up. 

"  You  will  let  me  take  you  in  to  supper  ? "  said  Wyllys, 
pulling  himself  up  with  graceful  unwillingness  from  the 
fantastic  root  seat  beside  the  fountain.  "  Where  shall  I 
find  you,  if  I  survive  the  next  half  hour  ?  " 

"  Here ! "  glancing  up  brightly.  "  It  is  cool  and  quiet, 
and  my  feet  ache  with  standing.  Don't  send  anybody  to 
me,  please  !  I  shall  sit  here,  and  rest  and  think — ponder 
seriously  upon  the  miseries  of  the  rich,  the  compensations 
of  the  poor." 

Orrin  had  chosen  their  resting-place  in  the  leafy  boudoir 
with  his  habitual  sagacity,  having  an  eye  both  to  ease 
and  the  semi-privacy  which  confidential  friends  find  so 
enjoyable  in  the  neighborhood  of  a  crowd.  An  osier 
frame  overrun  with  ivy,  screened  Jessie  on  the  left  from 
any  save  very  prying  eyes ;  a  barricade  of  lemon  and 
orange  trees  towered  at  the  back  ;  in  front,  the  fountain, 
showering  from  peak  and  sides  of  a  rock-work  pyramid, 
cast  a  shimmering  veil  between  her  and  the  archway, 
closing  up  a  vista  of  vines  and  shrubs,  through  which 
issued  music  and  the  hum  of  many  voices  with  the  rhyth 
mical  beat  of  feet.  Jessie  listened  to  the  merry  din,  the 


138  JESSAMINE. 

nearer  dash  of  the  glittering  drops  into  the  basin  at  hei 
feet ;  and  inhaling  the  perfume  of  the  exotics  behind  her, 
smiled  a  happy  little  smile  in  remembrance  of  her  scorn 
ful  weariness  in  predicting  the  flirtations  among  the 
oleanders  and  lemon-trees.  She  had  no  prevision  then 
that  she  should  sit  here  with  one  chosen  companion,  talk 
ing  freely  and  gladly  of  all  that  was  in  her  heart ;  none 
of  the  gentle  and  lovely  reverie  to  which  he  had  left  her. 

From  a  great  globe  of  ground  glass  overhead,  effulgence 
like  that  of  a  midsummer  moon  streamed  down  upon  the 
falling  water;  the  trailing  grasses  and  clinging  mosses 
upon  the  stones  were  threaded  with  tiny  brilliants ;  the 
broad  wet  leaves  of  the  aquatic  plants  overhanging  and 
growing  within  the  marble  reservoir  were  washed  with 
silver.  A  single  lily  arose,  pure  and  proud,  from  a  clump 
of  luxuriant  flags.  Tall  ferns  standing  motionless  on  the 
thither  margin,  made  a  miniature  brake  of  an  alley  that 
stretched  away  into  cool  green  dimness.  A  bed  of  musk- 
plant  yielded  up  languorous  sighs  to  the  warmed  air.  All 
that  was  sensuous  in  temperament  and  artistic  in  taste 
made  response  to  the  influence  of  the  place  and  hour. 
Jessie  gave  herself  up  to  it  without  resistance,  laid  her 
head  against  the  tortuous  scroll-work  of  the  high  back  of 
the  settee,  and  dreamed.  The  evening  had  been  trium 
phant,  intoxicating  to  her.  The  evening  she  would  have 
preferred  to  spend  with  dolorous  Mariana  ! 

She  whispered  the  familiar  lines  to  herself : 

"  'All  day,  within  the  dreamy  house, 

The  doors  upon  their  hinges  creaked ; 
The  blue  fly  sung  i'  the  pane  ;  the  mouee 
Behind  the  mouldering  wainscot  shrieked, 
Or  from  the  crevice  peered  about, — ' 


JESSAMINE  139 

But  that  was  nothing !  I  dare  say  the  Grange  was  a 
;ommodious,  respectable  family  mansion ;  that  it  would 
lave  been  as  beautiful  as  the  Alhambra  to  the  poor  girl, 
lad  the  faithless  lover  kept  his  tryst.  '  "  He  cometh  not," 
she  said ! '  That  was  the  key  to  the  desolation  without 
ind  within.  I  had  not  believed  that  I  could  be  so  glad  to 
>ee  any  one  except  Roy,  as  I  am  to  meet  Orrin  again.  lie 
las  a  look  like  his  cousin  sometimes.  I  never  noticed  it 
Before  as  I  have  to-night ; — a  look  that  gives  me  a  sense  of 
safety  and  companionship  when  with  him,  which  makes 
madness  and  homesickness  impossibilities.  It  is  good  to 
iiave  a  friend  upon  whom  I  can  lean  my  whole  weight 
without  fear  of  causing  weariness — in  whose  society  I  can 
be  frankly,  fearlessly,  joyously,  myself ' !  " 

There  were  but  two  or  three  couples  in  the  conserva 
tory  besides  herself,  and  they,  too,  seemed  to  be  lulled 
into  silent  musing  by  the  subdued  lights  and  odorous  airs 
of  the  fairy-like  haunt.     Perhaps  some  of  the  dancers 
found  fault  with  the  draught  from  the  archway,  for  Jessie 
?aw  Warren  Provost  and  Mr.  II  urst  let  down  the  damask 
curtains  which  had  been  looped  back  from  it.    She  drew  a 
deeper  breath  of  content  in  the  feeling  of  increased  seclu 
sion.     Now  that  the  music,  the  babble  of  human  tongues, 
ind  the  tramp  of   a  hundred  waltzers  were   muffled,  a 
nocking-bird  from  his  concealed  cage  in  an  acacia  tree 
;  >egan  to  sing.     First  came  a  chirp  of  alarm  as  if  he  had 
ust  awakened  from  dreams  of   tropical  skies  and  mag- 
lolia  groves — then  a  trial  trill,  a  gush  of  liquid  melody, 
lear  and  soft  as  the  ripple  of  a  mountain  rivulet.     Next, 
ic  whistled,  still  softly,  but  with  marvellous  correctness 
md  sweetness,   a  flute   waltz  Jessie  had   heard   Orrin 


140  JESSAMINE. 

Wyllys  play  last  summer.     She  smiled  and  murrnared  ii 
her  trance"; — 

"  Everything  associated  with  him  is  pure  pleasure  ! " 

Nobody  could  be  moody  or  dull  when  he  chose  to  please 
and  interest.  To  her,  his  coming  was  like  the  spreading 
of  the  sun  rays  do\vn  the  mountain  sides  and  through  tht 
valley  on  summer  mornings,  steeping  the  commonplace  ii 
beauty  ;  making  of  native  loveliness  a  witching  miracle 
Dear,  dear  Roy  !  She  owed  this  great  happiness  also  to 
him.  He  had  reckoned  wisely  and  lovingly  in  commit 
ting  her  to  the  care  of  this  guardian. 

The  band  struck  up  a  march.  The  blare  of  the  instru 
ments  burst  unwelcomely  upon  her  rosy  dreams.  She 
aroused  herself  with  a  start  to  see  the  curtains  pulled  back 
The  mocking-bird  ceased  his  song  abruptly.  The  waltzers 
panting  and  flushed,  thronged  the  narrow  aisles  of  the 
conservatory  ;  chattered  and  flitted  among  the  foliage  like 
bright-plumaged,  loud-voiced  parrots.  Miss  Sanford  waa 
conspicuous  among  them,  leaning  palpably  upon  her 
escort's  arm.  Her  affected  laugh  grated  unpleasantly  upon 
Jessie's  ears,  every  few  seconds.  She  was  in  exuberani 
spirits ;  in  high  good-humor  with  herself,  and,  presumably 
with  her  partner. 

"  Oh  !  that  darling  beauty  of  a  lily  !  "  she  cried,  push 
ing  roughly  past  the  ivied  screen,  to  get  a  closer  view  on 
the  proud,  pale  princess  of  the  fountain.     "  I  wanted  you 
should  see  it!     Fanny  Provost,  my  cousin,  goes  just  crazy 
over  it.     It  was  brought  to  her  all  the  way  from  the  Kile 

O  J 

or  the   Ganges,  or  the  Amazon,  or  some  other  of  those 
etupid  rivers  in  Europe,  whose  names  I  always  forgot — by*; 
her  beau.       You    know   she   is   engaged   to  Lieutenant 
Averill  of  the  Navy  ?     Everybody  who  is  anybody  an- 


JESSAMINE.  141 

icunces  engagements  nowadays,  as  soon  as  the  matter  ia 
ettled  by  what  my  uncle,  Judge  Provost,  calls  the  high 
ontracting  parties.  It  is  a  nice  fashion.  Don't  you  think 
o?  I  do  think  an  engagement  must  be  just  the  cunning- 
st,  sweetest  thing  in  the  world  !  " 

"  That  depends,  in  a  great  measure,  upon  who  the  high 
ontracting  parties  are,  I  suppose,"  replied  Orrin,  with 
he  slightest  imaginable  glance  in  the  direction  of  the  con- 
ealed  spectator,  but  one  in  which  she  read  a  drollery  of 
ppeai  that  wrought  irresistibly  upon  her  risibles. 

Miss  Sanford  tittered.  "  I  declare  I  am  afraid  of  you, 
Ir.  Wyllys !  You  are  so  sarcastic !  Of  course,  that  was 
v'hat  I  meant.  One  takes  that  for  granted  always.  But 
t  must  be  just  too  sweet  for  two  people  who  are  devoted 
o  one  another,  and  who  are  of  suitable  ages  and  prospects, 
md  all  that,  you  know,  to  promise  that  they  will  just 
perfectly  adore  one  another,  till  death,  you  know.  At 
cast,  that  is  the  way  /look  at  it.  I  am  so  womanly,  Mr. 
Vyllys  !  I  often  tremble  at  the  thought  of  buffeting  the 
vorld.  Everybody  is  so  absorbed  in  their  own  selfish  iu- 
orests.  My  cousin,  Mrs.  Morris — the  ex-Chancellor's 
iidy,  you  know — says  I  am  a  sensitive  plant,  not  fit  to 
iicet  the  rough  winds  of  life." 

With  the  ventriloquial  knack  that  belongs  to  the  genu 
:ie  slayer  of  hearts,  Orrin  made  his  reply  inaudible  to 
ny  one  but  the  woman  at  his  side,  who  flushed  up  eagerly, 
nd  fanned  herself  in  naive  agitation. 

"  I  wish  I  could  think  so,  Mr.  AVyllys !  It  is  ever  so 
ind  in  you  to  wish  it,  I  am  sure.  But  men — and  I  am 
shamed  to  say  it — women,  too,  are  such  awful  flatterers ! 
d  appearances  are  so  deceitful!  Nobody  would  be- 
eve,  for  instance,  that  I,  with  everything — compara- 


1)0 

i* 


142  JESSAMINE. 

tively  speaking  you  know — to  make  me  happy,  should 
pine  for  a  kindred  heart — one  that  would  beat  responsive 
to  mine.     True,  one  person  cannot  have  everything,  you 
know — There  !  I've  torn  my  lace  flounce  upon  that  ugly 
cactus  !     Just  see,  Mrs.  Saville  !  " — to  a   lady  who  wag 
passing,  revealing  the  extent  of  the  rent.     "  The  first  time 
I  have  ever  worn  it,  too !     I  don't  know  what  my  careful 
papa  will  say.     It  was  a  present  from  him.     But,  la  !  who 
cares?     If  he  scolds,  I'll  punish  him  by  paying  for  it 
myself.     That  will  just  break  his  heart.     Nothing  puta 
him  out  so  much  as  for  me  to  remind  him  that  I  can  be 
independent  of  him  if  I  choose.     That  is  the  way  with 
all  you  gentlemen — isn't  it,  Mr.  Wyllys  ? "  staring  boldly 
she  fancied  engagingly — up  at  him.     "  You  would  have  us 
owe  everything  to  you.     Bless  me  !  can  that  be  supper 
And  just  as  we  are  having  such  a  sweet,  romantic  time 
Isn't  this  just  the  most  delicious  bower  in  Christendom' 
I  tease  my  cousin  Fanny  by  insisting  that   Lieutenan 
Averill  couldn't  help  proposing  when  once  she  had  go 
him  in  here.     Not  that  it  can  compare  in  size  with  oui 
conservatory.     Ours  is  connected,  too,  with  the  graperies, 
which  makes   it    perfectly  immense.     Where   can   Mr 
Romondt  be  ?     He  saw  me  come  in  here,  I  am  certain, 
for  we  passed  him  in  the  door.     He  was  to  take  me  in  t 
supper,  but   I   am  not  in  the  habit  of   waiting  for  m 
escorts.    It  would  be  just  too  funny  if  / — of  all  the  wonie: 
here — should  be  thrown  upon  your  protection  in  the  ch 
acter  of  the  deserted  maiden — wouldn't  it  ?  " 

"  The  bliss  of   succoring  you  is   not  to   be   mine, 
present,  it  seems,"  said  Orrin,  with  an  adroit,  backwa 
bow,  as  Mr.  Romondt  hurried  upon   the  scene,  full 
apologies,  to  claim  his  convoy. 


JESSAMINE.  143 

A  new  caprice  seized  the  belle. 

"  I  protest  he  ought  to  be  the  deseited  one,  in  punish 
ment  for  his  tardiness !  "  regaining  her  hold  of  Mr.  "Wyl- 
lys'  elbow,  and  making  a  resentful  inoue  at  the  derelict 
gallant  "  I  have  half  a  mind  to  go  off  with  you  and  leave 
him  to  solitary  regrets.  Suppose,  if  I  trust  myself  to  him, 
rny  barque  should  be  shipwrecked  on  the  journey  I  " 

It  was  an  awkward  moment.  The  heiress'  look  and 
action  plainly  testified  that  hers  was  no  "  half  mind  "  to 
commit  herself  to  the  pilotage  of  the  man  who  had  not 
invited  such  a  display  of  confidence.  Wyllys  extricated 
himself  promptly  and  creditably,  and  as  if  her  proposal 
were  entirely  decorous  and  ladylike.  lie  had  too  much 
sense  and  tact  ever  to  patronize  one  of  his  own  sex,  and 
owed  much  of  his  popularity  to  the  air  of  respectful  bon- 
hommie  with  which  he  now  turned  to  the  perspiring  and 
rebuked  Romondt. 

"Do  not  try  fallible  humanity  beyond  endurance,  Miss 
Sanford  !  It  is  hard  to  be  just  and  magnanimous  in  the 
face  of  such  a  temptation,  but  right  is  right.  Mr.  Ro- 
mondt !  grant  me  the  honor  of  becoming  your  security  for 
the  safe  and  pleasant  transfer  of  la  reine  du  bal  to  the 
supper-room. 

Jessie  was  quivering  with  merriment  in  her  sheltered 
nook. 

"I  have  been  in  mortal  terror  lest  I  should  not  be 
launched  at  all,  but  be  left  high  and  hungry  upon  the 
Stocks  I"  she  cried  gayly,  at  her  attendant's  approach. 
"And  supper  is  one  of  the  substantial  blessings  of  life, 
when  one  has  a  good  appetite." 

Orrin  feigned  to  wipe  the  dews  of  exhaustion  from  his 
brow  with  a  despairing  flourish  of  his  handkerchief. 


144 


JESSAMINE. 


"  At  last  I  am  at  your  service.  You  must  stay  me  with 
flagons  (of  champagne),  and  comfort  me  with  (pine) 
apples;"  he  said,  profanely  enough,  "for  I  am  sick  of 
heiresses ! " 


CHAPTER  X. 

CTDGE  PROVOST,  whose  wife  and  daughters 
were  the  leaders  of  fashion  in  Hamilton,  was  him 
self  a  social  Greatheart.  Having  brought  to  bear 
upon  various  vexed  domestic  problems  the  force 
of  his  astute  mind  and  enlightened  Christianity, 
he  had  arrived  at  a  series  of  conclusions  equally  credita 
ble  to  both.  The  pertinence  of  his  deductions  was  so 
obvious  to  the  impartial  reasoner  as  to  excite  his  surprise, 
that  the  great  body  of  good  and  sensible  men  and  women 
did  not  adopt  and  practise  them.  For  example,  he  main 
tained  first,  that  the  best  way  to  keep  men  out  of  jails, 
was  to  provide  them  with  abodes  so  comfortable  that  they 
would  prefer  these  to  stone  cells  and  prison  fare :  sec 
ondly,  as  a  modification  of  the  same  principle,  that,  since 
amusements  are  necessary  to  the  happiness  of  the  young, 
they  should  be  provided  with  lawful  diversions  in  their 
own  homes,  lest  they  should  seek  unlawful  abroad ; 
thirdly,  in  unconscious  plagiarism  of  the  wise  and  genial 
7 


146  JSS&AlffflX. 

author  of  "  Annals  of  a  Country  Neighborhood,  '-he  held 
and  believed  for  certain,  that  the  surest  way  to  make  an 
indifferent  thing  bad,  was  for  good  people  to  hold  then: 
selves  aloof  from  doing  it. 

Acting  upon  these  principles,  the  eminent  jurist  built 
a  bowling-alley  at  the  back  of  his  garden  ;  caused  his 
eight  children  to  be  instructed  in  music  and  dancing,  and 
encouraged  them  to  pursue  these  recreations  in  his  par 
lors, — where,  also,  lay  backgammon  and  chess  board  in 
full  sight.  Finally,  he  crowned  their  gratification  while 
he  drew  upon  himself  the  reprobation  of  the  zealots  and 
puritans  among  his  neighbors,  by  throwing  a  wing  out 
from  his  already  spacious  residence,  expressly  for  a 
billiard-room.  It  was  a  pretty  place,  and  a  cheerful,  with 
its  green  carpets  and  lounges,  tinted  walls,  and  long 
French  windows,  and  was,  as  may  be  supposed,  a  popular 
resort  with  those  of  the  college  students  who  had  the 
entree,  as  well  as  with  the  young  Provosts  and  their 
friends  of  both  sexes  in  the  town.  A  happy,  hospitable 
set  were  the  young  Provosts — the  four  sisters  and  four 
brothers — affectionate  to  one  another,  dutiful  and  loving 
to  the  parents  to  whose  judicious  affection  they  owed 
their  sunny  childhood  and  youth.  Jessie  liked  them 
better  than  she  did  any  other  family  in  Hamilton,  while 
Fanny,  the  second  daughter,  had  taken  a  fancy  to  her  at 
first  sight,  which  was  ripening  into  a  cordial  friend 
ship. 

The  billiard-room  was  very  bright  with  afternoon 
sunshine,  and  merry  with  the  chatter  of  gay  voices,  one 
day  late  in  February,  when  a  party  of  six  or  eight  gii-iu 
was  collected  about  the  table — four  playing,  the  others 
looking  on  and  talking,  sometimes  of  the  game  in 


JESSAMINE.  147 

progress,  sometimes  upon  other  subjects — all  in  a  familiar 
yet  lad}7! ike  way. 

"Somebody  mark  for  me,  please!"  said  a  ruddy- 
cheeked  damsel  who  had  never,  by  any  chance,  won  a 
game,  and  whose  principal  points  were  the  point  she  made 
of  missing  every  shot.  "  If  I  should  hit  anything  it 
would  be  a  pity  not  to  get  credit  for  it.  Now — all  of 
you  look  and  learn  !  " 

She  poised  the  cue  with  a  superabundance  of  caution, 
pursing  up  her  lips  into  an  O,  as  she  took  aim ;  dashed 
at  the  white  ball  nearest  her,  which  flew  frantically 
from  side  to  side  of  the  board,  rebounding  twice  from 
the  cushion,  and,  at  last,  popping  into  a  distant  pocket, 
having  dodged  every  other  ball  with  a  malicious  in 
genuity  eminently  illustrative  of  the  proverbial  perversity 
of  inanimate  things. 

"Better  luck  next  time!"  said  the  player,  invincibly 
good-humored,  resigning  her  place.  "  If  there  is  any 
thing  iu  perseverance  and  hope,  I  shall  do  it  yet,  some 
day,  and  astonish  you  all." 

The  others  laughed — with,  rather  than  at  her — and 
Jessie  Kirke  took  the  stand  she  had  vacated.  All  leaned 
forward  to  watch  her  play,  her  skill  being  already  an 
established  fact.  A  touch — not  a  thrust — to  the  white  ball 
sent  it  against  a  red  at  such  an  angle  that  in  the  rebound 
it  hit  another  quite  at  the  other  end  of  the  green  table, 
which  latter  rolled  into  a  pocket.  This,  to  the  uninitiated, 
meaningless  process,  being  repeated  by  her,  with  trifling 
variations,  until  she  had  made  sixteen  points,  was  consid 
ered  a  feat  among  the  embryo  billiardist?  surrounding  her. 

"  So  much  for  a  true  eye  and  a  sure  touch ! "  said 
Fanny  Provost.  "  You  shame  us  all,  Jessie  dear." 


148  JESS  AMU E. 

"  So  much  for  having  a  good  teacher  ! "  said  another, 
less  complimentary.  "  If  Mr.  Wyllys  would  bestow  as 
much  care  upon  our  tuition  as  he  has  upon  hers,  we 
might  be  adepts,  too." 

"  She  has  practised  ten  times  as  much  with  me  as  she 
has  with  him,"  answered  Fanny,  pleasantly.  "  So,  I  am 
entitled  to  the  larger  share  of  the  praise  for  her  pro 
ficiency.  I  will  not  be  cheated  of  my  laurels." 

"  Is  Mr.  Wyllys,  then,  your  best  player  ? " 

The  querist  was  Miss  Sanford,  who  "did  not  care 
about  billiards,"  and  had  even  remonstrated,  at  the  begin 
ning  of  her  visit  with  her  cousin  Fanny,  with  regard  to 
her  liking  for  the  game — a  such  a  queer  one  for  ladies ! 
She  would  be  afraid  to  touch  a  cue  for  fear  she  might  be 
called  strong-minded."  She  had  discovered,  furthermore, 
that  her  wrists  were  not  stout  enough  to  bear  the  weight 
of  a  cue  steadily,  and  took  pleasure  in  publishing  their 
genteel  fragility.  Only  that  afternoon  she  had  called  at 
tention  to  this  by  an  exclamation  addressed  to  Jessie, 
as  she  drew  up  her  cuffs  in  order  to  be  ready  for  her 
turn. 

"  Dear  me !  Miss  Kirke !  what  wouldn't  I  give  to  be 
as  robust  as  you  are !  Look  at  her  arms  !  They  would 
make  six  of  mine.  What  do  you  do  to  develop  your 
muscles  so  ? " 

Jessie  smiled  in  quiet  satisfaction  with  her  own  beau 
tifully  moulded  wrists. 

"  I  am  healthy,  and  I  lead  an  active  life,"  she  said, 
laconically,  but  politely. 

Miss  Sanford  was  not  pleased  either  with  smile  or 
words,  but  there  was  apparently  nothing  to  resent,  and  she 
returned  to  her  sofa.  She  had  attended  a  party  the  even- 


JESSAMINE.  14-0 

ing  before,  and  was  to-day  "  utterly  worn  out."  While 
the  game  went  on,  she  toyed  with  her  rings,  slipped  her 
bracelets  of  dead  gold  and  pearls  up  and  dovvr.  her 
thin  arms,  and  now  and  then  yawned  behind  her  hand. 
Mr.  Wyllys'  name  awoke  her  from  the  apathetic  dron 
ing. 

k'  Decidedly ! "  replied  a  looker-on,  Selina  Bradley 
by  name — a  kind-hearted,  talkative,  and  indiscreet  girl 
whom  everybody  liked,  yet  of  whose  tripping  tongue 
many  were  afraid.  "  Decidedly  the  best  in  town.  Don't 
you  think  so,  Fan  ?" 

"  There  are  not  many  who  can  equal  him  among  our 
finest  billiard  players,"  said  Fanny.  "  I  do  not  believe 
he  has  lost  a  game  since  Mr.  Fordham  went  away.  He 
played  splendidly!  His  nerves  were  steady  and  his 
judgment  nice." 

"  Fordham  !  "  repeated  the  heiress,  quickly.  "  What 
was  his  first  name  \  Who  is  he  ?  " 

"  Roy — and  he  is  a  professor  in  our  college.  He  is 
now  in  Heidelberg,  Germany.  Do  you  know  him  ?  "  said 
Fanny,  in  surprise.  "  You  must  have  heard  us  speak  of 
him  before." 

"  Never !  1  used  to  know  him,"  rejoined  Miss  San- 
ford,  tossing  her  head.  "  He  was  engaged  to  a  very  dear 
friend  of  mine.  No !  I  didn't  know  he  was  in  Germany. 
I  am  glad  of  it !  " 

Selina,  breathless  with  excitement,  did  not  catch  the 
meaning  of  the  latter  sentences. 

"  Engaged !  I  thought  he  was  love-  proof !  Fanny  ! 
Nettie  !  Sue !  do  you  hear  this  \  Who  do  you  guess  ia 
engaged  to  be  married  ?  No  less  a  personage  than  our 
ipvuluerable  Professor  Fordham  ! " 


150  JESSAMINE. 

The  girls  crowded  about  Miss  Sanford,  forgetting  the 
game  in  the  superior  attractions  of  a  love-story. 

"  To  whom  ? " 

"Who  told  you?" 

"  1  don't  believe  it ! "  were  the  divers  comments  upon 
the  intelligence. 

Jessie  remained  alone  at  the  table,  tapping  the  cushion 
opposite  her  with  her  cue,  her  face  flaming  with  indignant 
confusion.  Taken  utterly  by  surprise,  she  could  not  at 
once  rally  to  reply  to  the  false  statement  she  had  heard, 
or  govern  her  countenance  well  enough  to  seem  indiffer 
ent. 

The  heiress  bridled  at  the  last  remark,  setting  back  her 
head  in  a  fashion  she  conceived  was  regal,  whereas  it  was 
merely  ungracefully  scornful. 

"  You  are  not  asked  to  believe  it,  Miss  Barnes  !  I  said 
distinctly  that  the  gentleman  was  formerly  betrothed  to 
my  friend.  I  am  happy,  on  her  account,  to  be  able  to 
state  that  the  (to  her)  unfortunate  engagement  was  broken 
almost  a  year  since." 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  How  did  it  happen  ?  And  to 
think  we  never  heard  a  breath  of  it !  Go  on  !  there's  a 
darling  !  and  tell  us  all  about  it !  "  entreated  Selina,  sink 
ing  to  the  carpet  at  the  feet  of  the  in  nowise  reluctant 
newsmonger. 

"  Perhaps  you  had  rather  not,  Hester,"  suggested  gen 
tle  Fanny  to  her  cousin.  "  Such  stories  are  painful  to 
those  interested  in  either  of  the  parties  to  the  engagement, 
and  the  telling  does  no  good  to  any  one.  The  fewer 
people  that  hear  of  them  the  better,  it  seems  to  me." 

"  Oh  !  I  don't  mind  it  in  the  least  now  !  "  Hester  has 
tened  to  re-assure  her.  She  settled  the  voluminous  skirt 


JESSAMINE.  151 

of  her  purple  cashmere  peignoir  about  her ;  disposed  her 
rings  upon  her  fingers,  and  her  fingers  upon  her  lap  to 
her  liking;  sighed  profoundly,  and  looked  smirkingly  sen 
timental.  "  There  was  a  time  when  I  could  not  allude  tc 
it,  or  even  think  of  it,  without  tears.  My  disposition  is 
so  sympathetic!  But  time  deadens  all  grief's,  and  my 
poor  friend  acknowledges  herself  that  it  was  best  the 
affair  should  have  terminated  as  it  did.  She  met  Mr. 
Furdham  at  the  seashore  summer  before  last — was  with 
him  there  for  a  week  or  so.  It  was  long  enough  for  him 
to  fall  violently  in  love  with  her.  He  couldn't  help  being 
taken  by  her  appearance,  for  she  is  just  perfectly  lovely  ! 
a  blonde,  with  blue  eyes,  and  a  red  rose-bud  of  a  mouth, 
and  golden  hair,  and  the  sweetest  smile  ! " 

"  She  must  be  a  real  beauty ! "  sighed  Selina,  in  an  ecs- 
tacy  of  admiration. 

"  She  is.  People  pretend  to  see  a  resemblance  between 
us.  I  have  actually  been  mistaken  for  her  more  than 
once — but  that  is  all  nonsense,"  said  Hester,  modestly. 
'*  1  should  be  just  too  happy  if  I  were  half  as  handsome 
as  Maria.  But  I  love  her  too  dearly  to  be  envious.  We 
are  like  twin  sisters  in  heart.  I  dare  say  that  is  the  rea 
son  we  are  called  so  much  alike.  We  go  out  so  much  to 
gether,  you  see,  that  the  sight  of  one  reminds  people  of 
the  other,  you  know.  But  as  I  was  saying,  this  Mr.  Ford- 
ham  pretended  to  be  smitten  with  her,  and,  early  in  the 
winter,  visited  her  at  her  own  home.  Her  parents  liked 
him  exceedingly.  He  is  rather  an  imposing  man,  you 
know,  and  has  some  reputation  as  a  scholar.  So,  when 
he  paid  a  second  visit  at  Christmas,  and  offered  himself, 
there  was  no  objection  raised  to  the  match.  Poor,  dear, 
deluded  Maria !  how  happy  she  was !  All  went  swim- 


152  JESSAMINE. 

mingly  for  about  six  weeks,  when,  without  warning,  he 
broke  the  engagement.  And  why,  do  3*011  suppose  ?  lie 
had  heard  that  one  of  her  sisters  had  died  of  consumption 
several  years  before  he  knew  her,  and  he  -  could  not  be 
hampered  by  a  sickly  wife  ! '  " 

She  waited  until  the  chorus  of  reprobation  subsided, 
then  resumed : 

"  lie  wrote  to  her.  Iron  man  as  he  was,  he  was  afraid 
to  trust  himself  in  her  presence.  He  -  regretted  the  ne 
cessity  that  forced  him  to  this  unpleasant  step,'  he  said, 
-  but  he  owed  a  duty  to  himself  which  was  not  to  be 
lightly  put  aside.  lie  should  always  remain  her  friend,' 
and  all  that  sort  of  rubbish,  you  know.  The  broken 
hearted  creature  stooped  to  argue  with  him.  She  loved 
him  devotedly,  and  she  had  had  no  other  love.  If  /  had 
been  in  her  place,  1  would  have  died  sooner  than  let  him 
know  how  I  suffered  ;  but  she  was  such  a  lamb-like,  gen 
tle  creature!  and  her  spirit  was  utterly  crushed.  She 
wrote  to  him,  imploring  him  not  to  leave  her,  representing 
that  there  was  not  a  sign  of  hereditary  consumption  in  the 
family  ;  that  her  parents  were  living,  and  that  her  grand 
parents  on  both  sides  had  all  died  from  other  diseases. 
But  he  was  obstinate.  He  '  would  never,'  he  replied,  '  in 
any  circumstances,  marry  a  woman  who  was  not,  in  his 
opinion,  perfectly  sound  in  mind  and  body,  or  who  had 
any  predisposition  to  scrofula,  consumption,  or  insanity.' 
He  pretended  to  believe  still  that  she  had  the  seeds  of  a 
fatal  malady  in  her  system,  and  went  so  far  as  to  allude 
to  her  beautiful  color — just  the  sweetest  pink  and  white 
you  ever  saw  ! — as  a  hectic  flush.  That's  the  history  of 
Mr.  Roy  Fordhani's  love-scrape  !  " 

"  And  did  she  break  a  blood-vessel,  or  go  into  a  de- 


JESSAMINE.  153 

cline?"  asked  Sue  Barnes,  her  round  face  ludicrously 
elongated,  while  her  eyelids  twinkled  away  a  sympathiz 
ing  tear. 

"  Well — no !  "  Miss  Sanford  hesitated,  then  made 
the  admission  unwillingly,  evidently  appreciating  the 
damage  her  mournful  recital  must  sustain  through  the 
want  of  this  orthodox  sequel.  "  But  she  was  in  a  sad 
way  for  awhile.  Her  family  kept  the  miserable  affair  as 
quiet  as  possible  for  her  sake.  The  truth  was  communi 
cated  to  nobody  except  a  few  very  intimate  and  dearest 
friends.  But  you  can't  wonder  that  I  have  hated  the 
sound  of  Professor  Fordham's  name  ever  since." 

"  Yery  natural,  I  am  sure  ! "  murmured  the  plastic 
Sue. 

Hester  made  a  parade  of  wiping  her  eyes  with  a  lace 
handkerchief. 

"  Not  that  I  ever  liked  him.  Poor  Maria  brought  him 
around  to  our  house,  one  evening,  on  purpose  to  have  me 
see  him.  And  the  next  morning  she  was  in,  bright  and 
early,  to  ask  what  I  thought  of  him.  '  I  don't  fancy  him 
in  the  least,  my  dear  child,'  I  said  to  her,  candidly. 
'  lie  has  a  cold,  severe  eye,  and  a  stubborn  mouth.  He 
is  quiet  in  manner  because  he  is  unfeeling.  If  you 
marry  him,  he  will  rule  you  with  a  rod  of  steel,  and 
make  your  life  a  burden.'  It  was  a  trial  to  say  it,  but  I 
knew  it  was  my  duty,  and  I  didn't  turn  back,  you  know. 
She  cried  her  eyes  out  over  what  she  said  was  my  un- 
kindness,  and  left  me  in  a  tremendous  huff.  She  would 
neither  speak  to  me,  nor  hear  my  name  mentioned  in  her 
presence,  until  the  rupture  came.  Then  she  sent  right 
away  for  me,  and  fell  upon  my  neck,  begging  my  pardon. 
'If  I  had  been  as  clear-sighted  as  yon,  Hester,  what 
7* 


154  JESSAMINE. 

wretchedness  I  would  have  been  spared  ! '  she  sobbed 
I  ana  very  acute  in  my  perception  of  character.  My 
grandmother,  Mrs.  General  Deane — my  mother's  mother 
— said  to  her  dying  day  that  my  skill  in  seeing  through 
people — especially  sheep  in  wolves'  clothing — I  meap 
wolves  in  sheep's  clothing — was — well !  the  most  aston 
ishing  thing  she  had  ever  seen." 

Jessie  was  knocking  the  balls  to  and  fro,  in  reckless 
disregard  of  the  laws  controlling  the  game,  but  the  sharp 
click  of  the  ivory  spheres  did  not  distract  general  atten 
tion  from  Miss  Sanford. 

"  1  never  was  more  amazed  in  all  my  born  days  ! " 
said  Selina,  conscientiously  reserved  with  respect  to  her 
pre-natal  experience.  "  Mr.  Fordham  is  so  pleasant,  yet 
so  dignified,  and  ranks  so  high  in  the  Faculty  and  the 
church,  and  has  so  much  influence  among  the  students  1 
Who  could  ever  have  thought  of  his  behaving  in  such  an 
inhuman  and  ungentlemanly  manner  ?  " 

"  Why,  people  in  Hamilton — everybody — out  of  the 
college  as  well  as  in,  consider  him  a  piece  of  perfection ! " 
added  Sue. 

"  He  is  a  detestable  snake  in  the  grass,  then ! "  Hes 
ter  said,  vehemently,  her  energy  so  disproportionate  to 
the  occasion,  that  doubts  would  have  arisen,  in  an  un 
biassed  mind,  of  her  own  belief  in  the  affecting  narration 
ehe  had  glibly  poured  forth. 

"  Take  care,  dear !  "  cautioned  Fanny.  "  There  may 
be  extenuating  circumstances  of  which  we  are  ignorant. 
Mr.  Fordham's  character  as  a  gentleman  and  a  Christian 
is  not  to  be  lightly  disputed.  Every  question  has  two 
sides,  papa  says,  and  those  are  wisest  who  suspend  judg 
ment  until  both  are  heard.  I  am  morally  certain  there 


JESSAMINE.  155 

is  some  mistake  about  all  this,  which  Mr.  Fordham  could 
clear  up,  if  he  were  here." 

The  heiresf?  sniffed  haughtily,  and  her  light  skin  was 
dappled  with  fiery  red  spots  to  the  roots  of  her  hair  ;  her 
faint  eyebrows  met  in  a  viragoish  frown. 

"  I  thank  you  for  the  inference,  Miss  Provost !  Would 
I  repeat  a  story  unless  I  was  sure — '  morally  certain,'  as 
you  say,  that  it  was  true  in  every  particular?  If  you 
question  my  veracity,  you  can  ask  dozens  of  her  ac 
quaintances  in  her  native  place,  who  will  confirm  my 
statement.  And  you  may  be  thankful  if  you  don't,  at 
the  same  time,  hear  some  other  ugly  facts  about  your 
Christian  gentleman,  that  I  have  chosen  to  omit.  If  I 
have  a  fault,  it  is  that  I  am  too  charitable  in  iny  judg 
ment  of  human  nature.  I  am  perpetually  being  imposed 
upon." 

The  cue  that  had  been  stationary  while  Fanny  put  in 
her  plea  for  mercy  to  the  absent  perjurer,  was  restless 
again,  red  balls  and  white  chasing  one  another  aimlessly 
across  the  green  cloth. 

"  To  tell  the  truth,"  said  Nettie  Fry,  another  of  the 
listening  group,  propitiatory  of  the  mistress  of  a  million 
in  her  own  right, — "  I  never  admired  Mr.  Fordham  so 
much  as  many  pretend  to  do.  He  was  always  so  cool 
and  lofty — so  unapproachable  and  unlike  other  young  men 
of  his  age.  And  as  Miss  Sanford  says,  he  looked  as  if  he 
might,  when  married,  grow  into  a  kind  of  Bluebeard." 

"  For  my  part,  I  thought  him  grand  and  good,"  con 
fessed  Selina.  "  And  I  liked  him  a  hundred  times  bet 
ter  than  I  did  the  modern  young  gentleman,  with  his 
flattering  speeches  and  unmeaning  attentions.  I  didn't 
think  he  could  trifle  with  a  woman's  affections.  I  am 


156  JESSAMINE. 

dreadfully  disappointed  !     I  wonder  if  Mr.  WyLj-s  knowt 
anything  about  this  shocking  business !  " 

"  Of  course  he  doesn't !  How  should  he  ?  "  retorted 
Hester,  tartly.  "  There  are  not  three  people  besides  my 
self,  even  in  our  city,  who  ever  heard  of  it." 

"You  said  'dozens,'  just  now,  Hester!"  ventured 
merciful  Fanny,  in  gentle  rebuke. 

Selina  averted  the  burst  of  anger  portended  by  the 
darkening  visage  of  the  moneyed  belle. 

"  1  thought  Mr.  Wyllys  would  be  more  likely  to  hear 
Mr.  Fordham's  side  of  the  story  than  anybody  else,"  she 
said,  timidly.  "  You  know  they  are  own  cousins." 

"  You  don't  say  so !  "  ejaculated  Hester,  horrified  ; 
and  by  a  simultaneous  conviction  of  their  indiscretion, 
the  entire  party  was  moved  to  glance  at  Jessie. 

She  appreciated  the  extreme  awkwardness  of  the 
pause ;  felt  that  their  eyes  were  directed,  like  so  many 
burning-glasses,  to  a  focus  that  was  herself,  and  me 
chanically  went  on  playing  with  her  cue  and  balls.  Only 
Fanny  Provost  was  in  a  position  from  which  ehe  could 
see  that  while  her  features  were  steady,  and  her  eyes 
seemed  to  follow  the  red  and  white  spheroids  in  their 
windings  and  doublings,  one  swollen  vein  in  her  throat 
was  beating  like  a  clock,  and  the  nails  were  bloodless 
where  they  pressed  upon  the  cue. 

"  Come  !  we  must  finish  our  game  !  "  said  the  young 
hostess,  going  back  to  the  table.  "  Jessie  has  been  per 
fecting  her  skill  by  a  bit  of  private  practice,  while  we 
were  making  havoc  of  our  neighbors'  characters." 

At  heart  she  was  exceedingly  displeased  with  the  tale 
bearer,  but  the  courtesy  of  hospitality  forbade  her  more 
emphatic  expression  of  disapproval. 


JESSAMINE.  157 

Jessie  threw  down  the  slender  rod,  and  tr'.ed,  very  nn- 
euccessfully,  to  laugh. 

"  I  have  done  nothing  except  spoil  your  game  for  yon. 
I  thought  you  had  found  an  occupation  so  far  preferable 
that  you  would  not  care  to  go  on  with  this.  I  give  up 
my  cue  and  my  place.  You  must  choose  other  partners 
and  commence  anew.  I  have  forgotten  how  the  balls 
were  set  up  when  we  stopped  to  listen  to  Miss  Sanford's 
thrilling  romance.  I  must  go  now,  Fanny.  My  time  is 
up !  " 

Bowing  a  general  "Good  afternoon,"  she  made  her 
way  to  the  library  where  she  had  left  her  hat  and  cloak. 
Fanny  accompanied  her. 

"  You  will  join  us  again  this  evening,  I  hope,"  she  said, 
kindly.  "  Mr.  Wyllys  is  to  give  us  some  music.  Hester 
has  never  heard  him  sing.  By  a  somewhat  strange  series 
of  mischances,  she  has  never  happened  to  be  present  when 
he  gave  the  rest  of  us  this  pleasure.  She  cannot  endure 
contradiction,  as  you  see ;  so  when  she  insisted  I  should 
ask  him  for  to-night,  I  complied.  I  am  often  thankful, 
Jessie,  that  I  am  not  an  only  child,  when  I  see  how  rest 
less  and  irritable  so  much  notice  and  petting  has  made 
her.  It  is  a  downright  misfortune  to  be  so  wealthy  as  she 
is.  Everything  and  everybody  conspires  to  spoil  her.  She 
is  more  to  be  pitied  than  blamed,  poor  girl !  " 

Jessie  said  nothing  in  rejoinder  to  this  ingenious  apol 
ogy  for  her  cousin's  ill-natured  tattling,  and  Fanny  was 
obliged  to  proceed  directly  to  the  point. 

"  I  am  sorry  if  you  are  leaving  thus  early  on  account 
of  anything  Hester  has  said,"  she  continued,  genuine 
concern  depicted  in  her  countenance — "  sorry  if  the  slur 
cast  by  the  idle  talk  of  a  party  of  thoughtless  girls  upon 


158  JESSAMINE. 

the  character  of  your — of  our  friend,  Mr.  Wyllys'  cousin 
— has  wounded  or  displeased  you.  Hester  does  not  mean 
to  exaggerate  or  misrepresent,  but  she  has  a  wild,  careless 
fashion  of  talking;  sometimes.  I  am  convinced  that  there 

o 

is  some  great  mistake  in  the  story  we  have  heard.  In 
details  and  in  general  bearing,  it  is  not  in  keeping  with 
Mr.  Fordham's  well-established  character.  If  you  knew 
him,  you  would  agree  with  me  in  discrediting  it,  in  toto." 
"  I  do  know  him,  and  I  quite  agree  with  you  !  " 
Jessie  was  tying  on  her  hat,  and  the  action  might  have 
caused  the  slight  quaver  and  weakness  in  her  voice.  It 
was  firmer  when  she  spoke  again.  Fanny,  in  consterna 
tion  at  the  unexpected  disclosure,  and  the  manner  which 
said  that  more  was  behind  the  mere  statement,  could  not 
Bimmion  words  for  reply. 

"  Mr.  Wyllys'  cousin  " — with  unconscious  emphasis, 
Fanny  imagined  was  disdainful — "  is  not  a  stranger  to 
me.  I  have  known  him  a  lono;time.  But  sav  nothing  to 

o  */  o 

your  friends  about  the  acquaintanceship.  They  might 
fear  they  had  offended  me  by  their  strictures.  I  will — I 
may  tell  you  more  some  other  time.  You  \vill  compre 
hend  then  why  certain  things  which  were  said  just  now, 
have  excited  me  more  than  I  care  to  show.  You  are  al 
ways  just  and  tender-hearted,  and  I  thank  you  for  speak 
ing  when  I  could  not.  Good-by  !  " 

Her  lips  were  set  and  hard  to  Fanny's  soft  kiss,  and  her 
eyes  glowed  dangerously  as  the  latter  attended  her  to  the 
front  door.  The  peace-maker,  noting  this,  refrained  from 
further  endeavors  to  heal  the  breach  between  her  relative 
and  her  new  friend.  Hester  had  been  shockingly,  shame 
fully  imprudent,  even  if  what  she  stated  were  true.  Jessie 
was  hurt  and  angry,  and  she  had  a  right  to  be.  Yet  slie^ 


JESSAMINE.  159 

Fanny,  dared  not  advance  another  step  without  a  more 
distinct  understanding  of  the  case.  For  the  present  it 
was  beyond  her  art.  She  tried  to  content  herself  by  a 
cordial  invitation  to  "run  in  to-morrow  forenoon  for  a 
quiet  billiard-practice — only  you  and  myself — if  you  do 
not  think  better  of  your  refusal  to  come  to-night,"  and 
let  her  visitor  go. 


^^jagf 


CHAPTER  XI. 

-pREATLY  perturbed,  Fanny  returned  to  the  circle 
of  gossips.  They  had  not  recommenced  their 
game,  but  were  standing  about,  and  leaning  upon 
the  billiard-table,  busily  rehearsing  the  late  scene, 
accentuating  their  animated  periods  by  tapping 
the  floor  with  the  cues,  and  rapping  the  board  with  the 
ivory  balls.  All  except  Hester,  who  sat  still  upon  her 
lounge,  twirled  he»  rings,  and  looked  sulky. 

Selina  was  foremost  and  loudest  in  apologetic  exclama 
tions — being  as  candid  in  regret  as  she  had  been  in  cen 
sure. 

"  Do  you  know  I  never  thought  of  his  being  a  relation 
of  Mr.  Wyllys  until  just  as  I  spoke  of  it?  That  is  like 
my  blundering  tongue !  There  is  no  half-way  house  of 
meditation  between  the  brain  and  it.  We  are  ruined ! 
you  and  I  especially,  Nettie,  and  Sue  is  almost  as  badly 
off.  Jessie  will  tell  Mr.  Wyllys,  and  he  will  report  us  all 
to  his  cousin,  and  won't  there  be  a  row  ?  " 


JESSAMINE.  161 

"  "Why  should  you  care  ?  "  said  Hester,  sharply.  "  If 
the  man  is  away  off  in  Germany,  he  can't  quarrel  with 

you." 

"  But  he  is  coming  back  next  Fall !  I  should  sink  into 
the  earth  if  he  were  to  ask  me  any  questions  about  what 
I  have  said.  He  has  always  been  so  gentle  and  pleasant 
with  me !  I  felt  quite  proud  of  his  good  opinion." 

"  You  had  very  little  to  be  proud  of,  I  should  say !  " 
retorted  Miss  Sanford,  losing  command  of  her  tongue  and 
temper  entirely,  as  the  discussion  proceeded.  "  Thank 
Heaven  !  I  am  not  dependent  upon  such  contemptible 
trifles  for  my  peace  of  mind  !  I  wouldn't  recognize  Roy 
Fordham  on  the  street,  or  anywhere  else  ;  would  cut  him 
dead  were  he  to  enter  this  room  at  this  very  minute. 
As  for  Miss  Kirke,  I  care  less  than  nothing  for  her,  or 
her  opinion.  If  she  chooses  to  play  the  spy  upon  a  con 
fidential  conversation  between  ladies,  and  carry  tales  to 
gentlemen,  she  may,  and  wrelcome.  I  never  could  abide 
her  from  the  first  instant  I  ever  saw  her.  I  do  hate 
tattlers  and  backbiters !  But  let  her  do  her  worst !  I 
flatter  myself  that  7,  at  least,  am  above  her  reach ! " 

"  I  should  be  very  uneasy  and  unhappy,  if  I  believed 
that  the  substance  of  our  conversation  would  ever  reach 
Mr.  Fordham's  ears,"  rejoined  Fanny,  very  gravely.  "  But 
Mr.  Wyllys  is  no  mischief-maker.  I^or,  for  that  matter, 
is  Jessie  Kirke.  My  principal  regret  is  that  we  have 
wounded  her ;  for  I  do  not  think  a  reputation  so  nobly 
earned  as  Mr.  Fordham's  has  been,  will  suffer  from  our 
idle  chatter.  It  is  founded  upon  a  rock.  As  to  Jessie'a 
playing  the  spy,  Hester,  she  had  no  reason  to  believe  the 
communication  you  made  was  confidential." 

"  She  never  opened  her  lips  while  I  was  talking!  just 


1 62  JESSAMINE. 

stood  off  there,  pretending  to  be  busy  with,  the  billiard 
balls,  and  listened]"1  said  Hester,  hotly,  "  If  that  wasn't 
mean  and  dishonorable,  I  don't  know  what  is  !  " 

"  I  am  inclined  to  think  it  would  have  been  well  had 
the  rest  of  us  done  likewise  !  "  smiled  Fanny,  willing  to 
give  a  jocose  turn  to  the  circumstance.  "  Since  we 
cannot  help  our  blunder,  we  will  try  to  forget  it." 

But  Hester  had  a  troublesome  bee  in  her  bonnet.  She 
looked  more  and  more  discomposed. 

'•'  What  makes  you  all  think  that  this  Kirke  girl  will 
blab  to  Mr.  Wyllys?  "What  has  she  to  do  with  him, 
more  than  any  of  you  here  ? " 

"  What's  he  to  Hecuba,  or  Hecuba  to  him !  "  quoted 
Fanny,  theatrically,  bent  upon  covering  her  cousin's 
coarseness  of  speech  and  manner.  "  They  are  old  friends, 
and  he  is  intimate  at  Dr.  Baxter's,  where  she  is  staying. 
As  I  said,  however,  the  least  of  my  apprehensions  is  that 
she  will  stir  up  strife  between  us  and  Mr.  Fordham." 

She  chalked  her  cue  carefully,  as  if  it  were  her  chief 
concern  at  present. 

"Is  he  addressing  her?"  demanded  Hester,  with  in 
creasing  interest. 

"  I  don't  know.     Selina !  will  you  play  on  my  side  ? '' 

"  In  a  minute ! "  The  volatile  Bradley  was  off  at  a 
tangent.  "  I  don't  begin  to  believe  that  he  means  to 
offer  himself  to  her,  whatever  wiseacres  may  say.  It  is 
well  known  that  he  is  not  a  marrying  man.  He  brings 
out  girls  that  have  the  making  of  belles  in  them.  It  is  a 
sort  of  hobby  Avith  him — a  mission  he  has.  This  done,  he 
stands  back  serenely,  and  lets  other  men  marry  them. 
He  is  a  universal  lover  of  the  sex,  and  upon  occasions 
like  those  I  have  named — a  benefactor.  Some  oi'  our 


JESSAMINE.  163 

most  elegant  matrons  and  handsomest  young  ladies  were 
lu's protegees.  His  sanction  of  their  charms  made  them 
the  fashion.  It  is  odd,  but  true." 

Hester  smiled,  laid  her  head  on  her  left  shoulder,  and 
peeped  at  an  opposite  mirror. 

"  It  would  be  a  sin  were  you  Hamilton  girls  to  let  him 
marry  this  girl.  You  don't  half  appreciate  him.  I  have 
met  so  many  distinguished  and  gallant  men,  that  I  call 
myself  a  tolerable  judge  of  true  breeding  and  polished 
manners.  And  I  can  inform  you  that  in  a  large,  gay 
city  such  as  that  I  live  in,  he  would  be  a  star  !  might 
have  almost  any  girl  he  wanted.  The  idea  of  his  throw 
ing  himself  away  upon  a  poor  minister's  daughter  is  just 
perfectly  nonsensical.  I  have  too  good  an  opinion  of  his 
common-sense  and  his  taste,  to  believe  it  for  a  second. 
He  can't  but  know  that  he  could  look  ever  so  much 
higher.  What  there  is  about  this  Miss  Kirke  that  you 
all  admire,  I  can't  see,  for  the  life  of  me.  She  couldn't 
carry  it,  in  our  place,  with  such  a  bold  hand,  as  she  does 
here.  She  would  be  put  down  at  once  and  forever !  " 

"  Jessie  Kirke  is  my  friend,  Hester,  and  was  but  just  now 
my  guest,"  said  Fanny,  firmly.  "  Excuse  me  for  saying  that 
I  cannot  hear  her  spoken  of  unkindly  in  this  house.  She 
is  a  lady — born  and  bred.  Papa  says  her  family  were 
people  of  rank  in  this  country,  before  ours  was  ever  heard 
of.  I  am  not  an  aristocrat,  but  if  I  were  I  should  rather 
belong  to  what  Dr.  Holmes  calls  the  '  Brahmin  caste ',  in 
America,  than  to  any  other.  Jessie  Kirke  comes  of  an 
educated  race,  and  the  refinement  of  educated  genera 
tions  shows  itself  in  every  motion  and  word.  I  do  not 
affirm  that  she  will — that  she  would,  if  he  offered  him 
self,  marry  Mr.  Wyllys.  1  do  say  that  he  would  do  well 


164  JESSAMINE. 

to  win  her  for  his  wife.     And  I  suspect  he  does  not  need 
to  be  told  this." 

The  snn  was  an  hour  high  as  Jessie  descended  the 
granite  steps  of  Judge  Provost's  mansion.  The  college 
buildings  lay  to  her  right,  upon  rising  ground,  separated 
by  a  shallow  valley  from  the  hill  crowned  by  the  Provost 
house  and  grounds.  Instead  of  taking  the  street  that 
would  conduct  her  to  Dr.  Baxter's  door,  she  turned 
sharply  to  the  left,  and  began  another  and  steeper  ascent. 
There  were  few  residences  in  this  quarter  of  the  town, 
and  these  were  gentlemen's  villas,  separated  by  large  gar 
dens.  She  did  not  look  up  at  the  windows  of  the  scat 
tered  dwellings  in  passing,  although  more  than  one  ac 
quaintance  watched,  from  one  and  another  of  these,  the 
straight,  slender  figure  that  held  on  its  rapid  course  with 
out  sway  or  falter.  In  the  plainest  garb,  she  was  con 
spicuous  for  her  carriage  and  peculiar  style  of  beauty. 
This  afternoon  she  looked  like  a  young  forest  princess  in 
her  dark  green  dress,  and  tunic  trimmed  with  fur,  the 
black  velvet  cap  and  sweeping  green  feather.  She  had 
thought  of  Hester  Sanford's  colorless  countenance  and 
Parisian  costumes  as  she  made  ready  for  the  call  upon 
Fanny,  laughed  to  herself  at  the  image  that  smiled  back 
upon  her  from  the  mirror,  knowing  how  far  handsomer, 
even  more  "  stylish "  (Hester's  pet  word !)  she  was  in 
her  simple  robes.  She  thought  more  of  such  things  now 
than  ever  before.  Her  enjoyment  in  general  company 
was  no  longer  the  gratification  of  a  young  girl's  frank 
vanity — often  aa  guileless  and  freely  uttered  as  a 
child's.  The  desire  to  be  at  her  best  looks,  to  attract 
and  to  hold  the  admiration  of  those  whom  she  met 
abroad,  had  ceased  to  be  simple  and  positive.  There  was 


JESSAMINE.  165 

in  it  the  baser  element  of  competition.  She  would  be 
beautiful  and  brilliant  because  others — Hester  Sanford 
in  particular — were  homely  and  silly.  The  feeling  had 
grown  upon  her  insidiously — so  stealthily  she  could  not 
tell  when  she  forbore  to  laugh,  good-naturedly,  at  the 
heiress'  absurdities;  to  declare  openly  to  Mr.  Baxter 
and  Orrin  that  she  had  conceived  an  antipathy  to  her  be 
fore  she  had  known  her  three  hours,  or  three  minutes, — 
that  association  with  her  invariably  provoked  her  into  an 
indescribable  but  intolerable  state  of  discomfort,  analogous 
to  that  a  cat  is  supposed  to  feel  when  her  fur  is  turned 
the  wrong  way.  But  she  disliked  the  woman  intensely 
now  when  she  hardly  ever  named  her  to  others. 

There  were  many  reasons  for  this.  As  proud  in  her 
way  as  Hester  was  vain-glorious  in  hers,  it  galled  her 
continually  that  she  must  appear — even  for  Fanny's  and 
decency's  sake — to  submit  to  the  insufferable  imperti 
nence  of  one  who  was  her  peer  in  nothing  save  the  acci 
dent  of  riches.  She  would  give  her  no  apparent  ad 
vantage  ;  would  not  put  it  into  her  power  to  boast  that 
sho  had  driven  her  out  of  the  arena  where  she — Hester 
— believed  that  she  reigned  queen  of  Fashion,  if  not  of 
Love  and  Beauty, — or  she  would  have  avoided  her  when 
ever  she  could.  It  seemed  to  her  that  the  more  dignified 
course  was  to  overlook  her — her  spiteful  innuendoes,  her 
pompous  condescensions,  and  brainless  boastings — with 
the  sublime  indifference  of  one  whose  thoughts  were  set 
upon  worthier  and  more  comely  objects ;  to  mete  out  to 
the  heiress  scrupulously  such  show  of  regard  as  she  would 
vouchsafe  a  peevish,  painted  gad-fly  hissing  about  her 
cars  and  eyes. 

The   gad  fly   had   stung  her   out   of  her  seeming  of 


166  JESSAMINE. 

haughty  carelessness,  and  since  she  could  not  crush  or 
even  touch  it,  she  was  fleeing  before  it,  as  for  her  life- 
The  figure  occurred  to  her  as  she  climbed  a  third  hill — 
one  she  had  never  crossed  before  without  pausing  on  the 
summit  to  look  back  over  the  town — a  view  Roy  had 
commended  to  her  admiration  in  one  of  his  letters.  She 
did  not  stop  now,  or  turn  her  head,  but  almost  ran  down 
the  other  side,  her  teeth  clinched,  and  a  dry  aching  in  the 
throat  that  ought  to  have  been  relieved  by  tears,  yet  was 
not  to  be.  She  met  no  one  in  her  walk.  The  day  was 
still,  and  very  cold  ;  the  hills  beyond  the  ice-bound  river 
were  strongly  defined  against  a  pale  orange  sky  into 
which  the  color  seemed  to  be  frozen,  so  unvarying  was  it^ 
as  the  sun  rolled  horizonward.  She  had  passed  the  region 
of  paved  sidewalks,  but  the  ground  rang  like  stone  un 
der  her  tread  ;  her  breath  was  frosty  vapor  as  soon  as  it, 
left  her  lips.  She  did  not  think  how  much  colder  it 
would  be  in  the  open  country  road  on  the  other  side  of 
the  bridge.  She  would  not  feel  it  when  she  got  there. 
Two  wood  wagons,  each  with  a  team  of  four  horses,  were . 
coming  across  the  bridge,  abreast,  and  she  stepped  aside 
to  let  them  pass.  The  drivers  were  walking  behind  their 
loads,  swinging  their  arms  and  stamping  to  keep  up  the 
circulation  of  the  congealing  blood  in  their  limbs.  The 
roadsters  tramped  in  a  cloud  of  steam  from  their  nostrils, 
about  which  fine  icicles  clung  to  their  shaggy  hair.  They 
had  thick  woollen  shields  over  their  breasts,  fur  collars 
upon  their  shoulders. 

"  Men  are  tender  in  their  mercies  to  the  brute  crea 
tion  !  "  thought  the  young  lady  at  whom  the  men  looked 
with  respectful  but  evident  approbation,  in  going  by. 
"  When  it  comes  to  women,  their  pity  fails  them  !  " 


JESSAMINE.  1G7 

She  was  doing  more  than  escaping  the  malignant 
tongue  that  had  blackened  the  fair  fame  of  her  be 
trothed.  She  despised  Hester  Sanford's  intellect  and  in 
ventive  talents  so  heartily  that  she  should  have  laughed 
to  scorn  the  tale  to  which  she  had  hearkened ;  dissected 
the  ill-formed  mass  of  contradictions,  and  boldly  refuted 
her  statements  by  a  comparison  of  their  incongruities. 
Three  months  earlier  she  would  have  covered  the  trad ucer 
with  confusion,  and  rightly  punished  her  gloating  audi 
ence  by  standing  forth  as  the  defender  of  Roy's  honor 
and  truth,  and  proudly  announcing  the  nature  of  the 
bond  between  them.  She  was  incapable  of  such  an  at 
tempt  now.  Like  a  cowed  hound,  she  had  crouched  in  a 
corner  and  suffered  the  outrage  to  him  who  was  her  other 
self — the  gallant  gentleman,  whose  name  she  was  to  bear 
some  day — lifted  neither  tongue  nor  finger  to  save  that 
name  from  obloquy.  Not  even  to  amiable  Fanny  (how 
much  braver  than  her  craven  self  !)  had  she  been  able  to 
say — "  This  man  is  to  be  my  husband !  Who  strikes  him, 
wounds  and  makes  an  enemy  of  me !  " 

Why  was  this  ? 

She  stopped  midway  across  the  bridge ;  leaned  over 
the  parapet  with  locked  hands  and  rigid  features ;  stared 
down  upon  the  shining  black  ice — still  not  feeling  the 
cold — and  tried  to  answer  the  question  thrust  upon  her. 

Why  had  she  made  no  fight  to  save  the  character  of 
him  for  whom  she  had  once  declared  herself  willing  to 
die? 

"How  dared  they?"  she  had  muttered  between  her 
teeth,  in  leaving  Judge  Provost's  portico.  On  the  bridge 
she  spoke  again — a  hoarse  whisper  it  hurt  her  throat  to 
sibillate. 


168  JESSAMINE. 

"If  this  be  true  !  "  she  said,  letting  her  clasped  hands 
fall  upon  the  stone  wall. 

There  was  a  livid  bruise  on  both,  when  she  removed 
her  gloves  that  evening,  but  she  had  not  felt  it  when  it 
was  dealt. 

Had  then  her  belief  in  her  lover's  integrity  succumbed 
to  the  weight  of  the  first  doubt  cast  upon  it,  in  her 
presence?  Were  her  faith  and  her  love  made  of  such 
flimsy  stuff  as  to  be  torn  into  wretched  rags  by  a  single 
gale  ?  If  these  were  ever  well-founded,  must  not  the  in 
roads  of  distrust  have  been  gradual  in  order  to  be 
effectual  ?  Had  suspicion  and  forebodings  visited  her  be 
fore  to-day?  been  harbored,  but  not  recognized?  If  so, 
what  were  the  grounds  for  doubts  and  fears  ? 

"  If  it  be  true — "  she  repeated,  with  a  desolate  moan — 
"  there  is  no  help  for  me  in  earth  or  in  heaven !  I  can 
never  trust  or  love  again  ! " 

Some  one  was  coming  on  behind  her  with  quick  steps, 
which  echoed  loudly  on  the  icy  planks,  and  she  walked 
on  hastily.  Her  first  unwise  impulse  was  to  increase  her 
speed  in  the  hope  of  getting  away  from  the  intruder, 
whoever  he  might  be.  But  finding,  on  reaching  the 
opposite  shore,  that  he  gained  on  her,  she  slackened  her 
pace  to  let  him  pass.  She  would  be  the  sooner  alone  and 
unobserved  if  she  allowed  him  to  go  on.  It  was  only  a 
chance  wayfarer,  of  course,  but  she  would  shun  all  eyes, 
idle  or  searching,  while  her  brain  was  in  such  a  whirl,  her 
heart  rent  and  quaking.  She  detected  nothing  familiar  in 
the  footfall,  but  she  did  remark,  with  a  sense  of  irritation, 
that  it  was  more  deliberate  in  nearing  her.  Did  the  un 
seen  pursuer  mean  to  dog  her  ? 

Annoyance   was    exchanged   momentarily   for    active 


JESSAMINE.  1(59 

alarm ;  the  angry  blood  welled  to  her  face  and  head  in 
one  mighty  throb,  as  a  hand  touched  her  elbow,  before 
her  persecutor  had  breath  to  accost  her. 

It  was  Orrin  Wyllys'  voice  that  said,  laughingly,  "  Is 
it  Atalaiita,  or  swift  Camilla  scouring  the  plain,  whom  1 
have  chased  for  the  last  ten  minutes  ?  What  are  you 
running  away  from  ?  " 

"  The  Furies  ! " 


CHAPTER  XII. 

was   shocked   into   sober  sincerity   by  the 
iierce,  curt  utterance. 

"  My  dear  Jessie  !  what  has  happened  ?  " 
"  Don't  ask  me !  "  walking  on,  without  looking 
at  him. 

Orrin  kept  step  with  her  for  several  moments,  studying 
the  eyes  that,  black  and  disdainful,  stared  straight  before 
her,  and  the  mouth  set  in  a  close  curve  of  pride,  before 
he  spoke  again. 

"  I  will  ask  nothing  just  now,  except  that  you  will  take 
my  arm,  and  allow  me  to  be  your  escort.  This  is  a  lonely 
road." 

"  It  suits  me  the  better,  then ! " 

lie  waited  a  minute  more,  and,  with  gentle  force,  undid 
her  right  hand  from  its  hold  upon  its  fellow,  and  drew  it 
within  his  arm. 

"  I  see  that  my  society  is  unwelcome,  Jessie,  but  it  is 
not  right  for  you  to  be  so  far  from  home  at  this  time  of 


JESSAMINE.  171 

day  wilhout  a  protector.  I  shall  not  compel  your  confi 
dence.  When  you  are  ready  to  give  it,  my  sympathies  or 
services  are  at  your  command,  as  they  have  always  been 
since  I  became  your  guardian  in  the  absence  and  with  the 
sanction  of  my  cousin." 

The  hot  sparkle  was  a  blaze  as  she  looked  up. 

"  Yes  !  and  you,  too,  must  have  known  it !  You,  who 
pretend  to  be  my  friend  !  My  trust  has  been  blind  and 
foolish  throughout.  You  were  ready  enough  to  counsel 
and  warn  me  about  other  things.  Why  did  you  never 
tell  me  of  Roy  Fordham's  former  engagement  ?  of  the 
love-affair  (save  the  mark  !)  that  clashed  with  mine  ?  You 
have  said  again  and  again  that  you  respected  me — that 
my  happiness  was  of  value  in  your  estimation.  Did  not 
respect  or  humanity  urge  you  to  spare  me  this  bitter  hu 
miliation  ? " 

Unaffectedly  amazed  though  he  was  at  the  onslaught 
and  the  information  she  imparted,  Orrin  yet  refrained 
from  explicit  denial. 

"  Who  has  been  talking  to  you  ? "  he  asked,  instead. 

She  dashed  through  the  story  in  the  same  impetuous 
strain,  ending  it  with — "  He  ought  to  have  told  me  this, 
and  so  ought  you !  I  can  forgive  anything  but  deliberate 
deception." 

Orrin  mused. 

"  You  are  excited — "  he  began,  slowly. 

She  interrupted  him — "  Who  would  not  be  ?  I  am  not 
a  stone ! " 

"  Nobody  said  that  you  were,  or  ought  to  be,"  smiling 
a  little.  "  I  was  about  to  say  that  the  displeasure  you 
feel  is  perfectly  natural — just  what  any  woman  with  a 
heart  would  experience  in  the  circumstances.  But  let  na 


1 72  JESSAMINE. 

investigate  before  we  condemn.  What  is  your  ground  cf 
complaint  against  my  friend  and  your  betrothed  ?  Did 
he  ever  tell  you  that  you  were  his  first  and  only  love  ? " 

"  I  do  not  know  that  he  asserted  it  in  so  many  words," 
she  replied,  with  a  vivid  blush.  "  But  I  certainly  inferred 
as  much  from  what  he  has  said." 

"  Every  woman's  inference  is  the  same  when  she  listens 
to  a  declaration  of  affection.  Who  but  a  fool  would  pre 
face  such  by  a  confession  of  how  many  times  he  had  re 
hearsed  it  to  other  ears  ?  Few  men  reach  the  age  of 
twenty -five  without  having  had  two  or  three  grandes  pas 
sions.  I  do  not  maintain,  as  a  gentleman  did  once  in  my 
hearing,  when  taxed  with  being  engaged  in  his  fortieth 
love-suit,  that  in  this,  as  in  most  other  things,  practice 
makes  perfect.  But  I  hold  that  you  cannot  accuse  Roy 
of  deceiving  you,  unless  he'  has  declared  expressly  that 
he  had  never  loved  or  wooed  until  he  met  you.  Happy 
are  those  who  are  not  visited  by  the  ghosts  of  by-gone — • 
and,  as  they  deemed,  buried — affections  upon  their  bridal 
eves !  Ghosts  that  are  hard  enough  to  lay,  as  many  a 
miserable  married,  not  mated  one  can  testify." 

"  None  such  shall  stand  between  me  and  him  whom  I 
marry!"  cried  Jessie,  vehemently.  "If  Roy  Fordham 
once  loved — if  he  still  regrets  this  girl — has  one  pang  of 
compunction  in  the  review  of  her  fidelity  and  her  sorrow; 
if  he  repents,  never  so  slightly,  his  relinquishment  of  her 
upon  insufficient  cause — he  shall  go  back  to  her.  I  will 
have  a  whole  heart,  or  I  will  quit  him,  a  pauper  in  love. 
Divided  allegiance  is  worse  than  desertion." 

"  Be  assured  of  one  thing ! "  returned  Orrin,  emphati 
cally.  "Roy  Fordham  'regrets'  no  past  action  of  his 
own.  His  judgment  is  as  calm  as  his  measures  are  do- 


JESSAMINE.  1 73 

cided.  If  lie  suffers  his  heart  to  go  out  of  his  keeping,  he 
does  it  in  the  persuasion  that  he  could  not  act  more  pru 
dently,  more  in  accordance  with  his  best  interests,  than 
to  intrust  it  to  her  whom  he  has  chosen.  But  should  he, 
nevertheless,  discover,  from  subsequent  developments, 
that  he  was  mistaken,  he  would  recall  affections  and  troth 
without  weak  hesitation.  If  Miss  Sanford's  story  be  true 
(which,  please  observe,  I  am  far  from  admitting),  we  may 
still  rest  content  in  the  knowledge  that  he  pursued  what 
he  thought  was  the  wisest  course — performed  what 
seemed  to  him  a  simple  and  imperative  duty.  He  is,  of 
all  men  I  know,  the  most  clear-headed  and  conscientious. 
If  his  ideas  upon  certain  subjects  appear  to  me  to  be 
over-strict,  if  his  conduct,  in  cases  that  would  be  trying 
emergencies  to  me,  looks  like  an  exercise  of  superhuman 
resolution  or  self-denial,  I  do  not,  therefore,  question  his 
wisdom  or  my  failings.  His  standard  of  right  is  so  ele 
vated,  his  views  of  duty  are  based  upon — 

"  .Don't  make  labored  excuses  for  him  which  you  feel, 
in  your  soul,  are  paltry  sophisms  ! "  burst  out  Jessie,  im 
patiently.  "  Is  it  your  belief  that  he  was  ever  betrothed 
to  this  girl  ?  And,  if  so,  did  he  cast  her  off  upon  the  bar 
barous  pretext  Hester  Sanford  named  ?  I  have  tried  to 
think  it  all  out,"  she  continued,  putting  her  hand  to  her 
head,  like  one  dazed  or  stunned,  "  but  nothing  is  fixed  and 
clear.  He  was  at  the  seashore  two  summers  ago,  after  he 
visited  Dundee.  He  did  go  to  B the  following  win 
ter — twice — both  times  to  attend  the  weddings  of  friends, 
he  told  me.  These  things  he  made  no  secret  of.  That 
does  not  look  like  guilt.  And  yet — Tell  me  what  to  be 
lieve — how  to  act ! " 

"  If  I  were  in  possession  of  the  exact  truth,  you  should 


174  JESSAMINE. 

have  had  it  before  now.  I  am  as  ignorant  as  yourself  of 
all  except  the  facts  you  have  stated.  He  has  friends  — 

relatives  whom  he  esteems — in  B .  I  recollect  that  ho 

was  with  them  at  the  sea  shore  late  in  his  vacation,  and 
that  he  spent  Christmas  before  last  in  the  city  which  is 
their  home.  This  is  the  extent  of  my  actual  knowl 
edge  touching  this  mystery.  He  is  reticent  in  the 
extreme  with  respect  to  his  personal  affairs.  I  never 
heard  your  name  ;  never  suspected  that  he  was  not  heart- 
whole  prior  to  my  first  visit  to  Dundee.  I  can  only 
judge  him  in  this,  as  in  every  case,  by  what  I  know  of 
his  principles  and  past  conduct.  He  is  incapable  of 
what  he  would  consider  a  dishonorable,  much  less  a  base 
deed  !  Try  and  trust  him  ;  forget  this  tale  which  may  be 
a  fiction,  out-and-out,  and  hope  for  the  best !  " 

"Christmas  before  last!"  murmured  Jessie,  in  stifled 
accents.  "  He  \vas  corresponding  with  me  then !  He 
had  told  my  father  that  he  meant — Oh ! "  stopping 
short,  and  stamping  her  foot  with  feverish  energy  upon 
the  frozen  earth — "  Is  there  no  way  of  ending  this  hor 
rible  suspense  ?  no  one  who  can  put  me  out  of  this  pain '{ 
I  would  give  my  right  hand  if  I  might  stand  face  to 
face  with  Roy  Fordham,  for  ten  minutes!  just  long 
enough  to  bring  my  accusation,  and  hear  his  defence ! " 

"  I  am  thankful  that  this  cannot  be!  "  said  Orrin,  com 
posedly.  "  I  understand  him  better  than  you  do  in  some 
respects.  To  doubt  is  to  insult  him.  One  sentence  of 
'  accusation,'  and  your  power  over  him  is  gone  forever. 
Be  guided  by  me,  Jessie !  You  are  not  in  a  fit  condition 
to  decide  for  yourself  upon  your  safest  mode  of  action 
at  this  critical  juncture.  It  is  an  oft-repeated  maxim 
of  human  law  that  every  man  is  innocent  until  proof 


JESSAMINE.  175 

brings  his  guilt  home  to  him.  Two  things  are  patent 
from  our  present  standpoint.  When  lioy  asked  yon  tc 
marry  him,  he  was  free  to  do  so, — the  previous  engage 
ment,  assuming  that  such  had  ever  existed,  having  been 
dissolved  some  months  earlier  than  the  date  of  his 
proposal  to  you.  Again — and  on  this  head  I  can  speak 
confidently — he  is  thoroughly  satisfied  that  his  choice 
is  a  judicious  one.  This  is  not  the  first  time  I  have 
•wanted  to  say  this  to  you.  He  may  not  be  an  ardent 
suitor,  because  his  is  not  a  passionate  nature,  nor  is  lie 
given  to  demonstrations  of  emotion.  But  he  is  more 
than  contented.  He  is  sincerely  attached  to  you — 

"  Which  means  that  he  will  fulfil  his  part  of  the  con 
tract  of  marriage,  unless  my  sister  should  die  of  consump 
tion  before  the  wedding-day  arrives!"  Jessie  checked 
his  defence  of  his  kinsman  by  saying,  with  a  rasping 
laugh. 

Wyllys  looked  deeply  pained. 

"  We  will  defer  further  conversation  about  this  matter 
until  you  are  calmer,"  he  said,  with  a  manifest  struggle. 
"•  You  are  not  ready  for  it  just  yet,  or  you  would  not 
Bneer  at  my  well-meant,  if  ineffectual,  attempt  to  set  your 
mind  at  rest." 

u  With  unfeeling  arguments !  with  special  pleadings 
that  freeze  the  blood  at  my  heart!  "  she  pursued,  un ap 
peased  and  desperate.  "If  this  is  the  ablest  defence 
I  you  can  set  up  for  your  client,  you  do  well  to  defer  the 
further  consideration  of  it.  I  have  prayed  you  for  bread, 
and  you  give  me  a  stone !  I  have  said — '  Let  me  have  the 
plain  truth  ! '  and  you  tantalize  me  with  fine-drawn  theo 
ri6<s  and  exhortations  to  patience  and  faith.  I  am  tempted 
to  oelieve  that  you  are  in  the  league  to  deceive  me  !  " 


176  JESSAMINE. 

"Jessie!  Jessie!  take  care!  You  do  not  know  what 
you  are  doing  !  " 

It  was  entreaty — not  reproach.  He  seemed  to  crave 
a  personal  boon — deliverance  from  impending  trial  of 
his  strength  or  feelings.  Jessie  rushed  on  headlong,  deaf 
to  the  significance  of  the  petition. 

"  Your  advocacy  is  worthy  of  the  cause  you  have 
espoused  !  And  while  you  expatiate  upon  your  cousin's 
cool  head  and  colder  heart,  and  recommend  me  to  make 
sure  of  this  pattern  partner — yes!  that  is  the  way  you 
put  it — I  am  being  torn  by  pride  and  wounded  affection 
and  incertitude,  as  by  raging  wild  horses !  It  is  easy 
for  you  to  talk  sensibly  and  even  eloquently  of  what  ap 
peals  only  to  your  reason  ! " 

"  Child ! "  seizing  her  elbows,  and  bringing  her  to  a 
stand-still  in  the  middle  of  the  road,  facing  himself, 
"does  it  cost  me  nothing,  do  you  think,  to  plead  this 
cause  ?  There  are  no  wild  horses  for  me  then !  No 
'Might-have-been'  dogging  my  steps  and  haunting  my 
pillow !  No  furies  of  betrayed  confidence  and  remorse 
menacing  me !  I  tell  you,  your  pettish  jealousy,  your 
slight  heat  of  resentment  that  will  be  gone  before  to 
morrow  morning,  is,  in  comparison  with  what  I  endure, 
a  summer  breeze  to  a  tornado, — the  nicker  of  a  match  to 
the  fires  of  Gehenna !  " 

Ila  released  her,  and  she  walked  on  beside  him,  be 
wildered  and  giddy;  almost  oblivious  of  her  individual 
grievances  in  the  thought  of  the  passion  that  had  fired 
his  eyes,  found  vent  in  his  hurried  sentences.  The  sun 
was  dowrn.  They  were  in  a  rough  country-road ,  stone 
fences  on  either  hand  ;  the  naked  hedge-rows  seeming  to 
shiver  in  the  still,  freezing  air.  The  hard  orange  dye  of 


JESSAMINE.  177 

(he  west  was  beginning  to  melt  slowly  into  a  gray  as 
cold.  It  was  a  heartless,  dreesome  afternoon. 

Jessie  never  forgot  it,  or  the  interval  of  awful  silence 
that  succeeded  Wyllys'  unprecedented  outbreak.  Not 
daring  to  glance  at  his  face,  she  had  a  second  surprise, 
when  he,  at  length,  suggested,  in  a  tone  tranquil  to  cold 
ness,  that  they  should  retrace  their  steps.  Could  she 
be  dreaming  now?  Or  were  the  strange,  wild  words 
echoing  confusingly  in  her  brain,  dictated  by  her  distem 
pered  fancy  ? 

"  It  will  be  late  before  we  reach  home,  as  it  is,"  Orrin 
offered,  in  support  of  his  proposition.  "  And  the  air  grows 
keener  every  moment." 

Nothing  more  passed  between  them  until  they  were 
again  upon  the  bridge,  where  he  stayed  her,  for  a  moment, 
that  he  might  rearrange  her  furs. 

"  You  are  not  used  to  this  biting  weather  !  Are  you 
tolerably  comfortable  ? "  he  asked,  in  his  usual  brotherly 
way. 

"  Quite  comfortable — if  you  are  not  angry  with  me  ! " 
she  answered,  enboldened  by  the  little  attention  and  his 
tone. 

"  You  silly  child !  I  have  never  had  a  thought  of  you 
that  bordered  upon  uiikindness.  We  have  both  been 
hasty  and  unreasonable  in  judgment  and  in  language, 
tliis  afternoon.  Your  warmth  was  excusable.  Mine  was 
culpable  weakness.  Yon  will  hate  me,  in  time,  if  I 
forget  myself  in  this  manner.  It  was  selfish  and  wicked, 
besides  being  unmanly.  Don't  contradict  me  !  I  know 
what  I  am  saying  now,  at  any  rate.  To  exchange  an 
unpleasant  for  a  painful  subject — promise  me  that  you 
8« 


178  JESSAMINE. 

will  not  allude  to  Miss  Sanford's  narrative  in  your  letter 
to  Koy." 

"  I  shall  write  to  him  by  to-morrow's  mail,  and  tell 
him  all !  "  said  Jessie,  with  a  return  of  stubbornness. 

"  You  will  regret  it  all  your  life  !  If  he  is  guilty,  he 
will  be  offended  at  your  arraignment  of  him  by  letter, 
which  must,  of  necessity,  be  formal  and  incomplete  as 
to  testimony — you  having  but  one  witness,  and  that  by 
no  means  a  reliable  one.  Should  he  be  innocent,  you 
inflict  severe  and  needless  pain  ;  put  yourself  in  the  posi 
tion  of  a  touchy,  suspicious,  exacting  fiancee,  whose  troth 
lie  will  ever  thereafter  hold  by  a  slight  tenure.  '  Let 
sleeping  dogs  lie,'  is  a  sage  motto,  unless  they  can  bark 
to  some  purpose.  If  you  will  allow  me,  I  shall  make 
it  my  business  to  sift  this  story  carefully,  and  apprise 
you  of  the  result — if  I  have  to  cultivate  an  inti 
macy  with  Miss  Sanford  in  order  to  get  at  the  truth. 
Meanwhile,  we  will  depend  upon  what  we  are  certain 
of — Roy's  integrity  and  the  nicety  of  his  honor.  At  the 
risk  of  being  again  taken  to  task  for  special  pleading, 
let  me  say  that  he  is,  in  my  estimation,  as  nearly  faultless 
as  mortals  ever  grow  to  be.  You  cannot  act  more  ration 
ally  than  to  think  as  much  as  possible  of  him,  and  as 
little  of  his  vaurien  cousin  as  is  consistent  with  common 
benevolence." 

It  was  silvery-gray  twilight  out-of-doors  when  they 
gained  Mrs.  Baxter's  door,  and  they  found  a  rosy  twilight 
of  summer  within  her  firelighted  parlors,  balmy,  more 
over,  with  the  spiciness  flowing  out  in  the  genial  tem 
perature,  from  the  latest  bouquet  presented  by  Mr.  Wyllys. 

The  donor,  playfully  gallant,  and  bent,  it  would  seem, 
upon  effacing  the  memory  of  his  late  excited  speech, 


JESSAMINE.  179 

was  chafing  Jessie's  numb  fingers  before  the  fire,  and  she 
laughing  in  spite  of  herself  at  his  sallies,  when  Mrs 
Baxter  tripped  in. 

She  always  entered  a  room  bouncingly,  generally  with 
the  added  effect  of  being  pushed  in  by  some  unseen 
hand  from  behind.  She  recoiled,  momentarily,  at  the 
tableau  upon  the  rug,  and  Jessie  observed  it  with  a  sick, 
guilty  qualm  that  made  her  snatch  away  her  hand  from 
Orrin's  hold. 

He  was  not  discomfited. 

"  Here  is  a  frozen  wayfarer  I  picked  up  on  the  bridge, 
my  dear  madam,  taking  an  ^^constitutional,"  he  said. 
"  Mindful  of  your  known  charity  and  condescension,  I 
took  the  liberty  of  bringing  her  in  to  be  treated  by  you 
as  her  needs  require.  If  I  may  advise  you  in  a  matter 
in  which  you  are  so  much  wiser  than  myself,  I  recom 
mend  that  a  cup  of  warm  drink — gruel,  panada,  or  posset 
— and  a  reasonable  amount  of  admonition,  tempered  to 
suit  the  exhausted  state  of  the  patient,  be  administered 
without  delay.  As  an  additional  precaution  against 
rheumatism,  pleurisy,  or  bronchitis,  a  glass  of  hot  lemon 
ade,  with" — affecting  to  whisper — "a  tablespoonful  of 
Jamaica  rum  or  old  Bourbon,  at  bedtime,  would  be 
eminently  judicious.  My  impertinence  culminates  in 
the  petition  that  you  vouchsafe  to  bestow  upon  my  un 
worthy  but  chill}'  self  a  cup  of  the  nectar  in  common  use 
upon  your  table  under  the  name  of  souchong." 

Jessie  slipped  away  to  her  chamber  while  her  cousin 
was  replying  in  suitable  terms  to  this  nonsense,  and  did 
Dot  reappear  until  the  tea-bell  had  rung  twice. 

She  had  been  crying,  Mrs.  Baxter  saw  at  once,  and 
she  was  still  very  pale,  It  had  been  a  violent  fit  of 


180  JESSAMINE. 

weeping  that  bad  exhausted  her  to  languor  of  expres 
sion  and  movement.  The  doctor  spoke  cheerily  to  her 
as  she  seated  herself  beside  him. 

"  Well,  my  little  girl,  how  are  your  spirits,  this  freez 
ing  night  ?  Do  they  follow  the  mercury,  or  rise  as  it 
descends  \ " 

An  unfortunate  question,  but  it  brought  a  faint  glow 
to  her  face. 

"  I  shall  be  more  lively  when  I  have  had  my  supper," 
she  said,  averting  her  eyes.  "  I  am  cold  and  tired  now." 

The  doctor  bent  his  head  and  raised  his  hand  to  ask 
a  blessing,  and  then  bade  his  wife  "  pour  out  Jessie's 
tea,  forthwith.  She  looks  as  if  she  needed  it,"  he  sub 
joined,  uneasily,  watching  her  with  eyes  that  were  very 
keen  when  he  was  awake  to  what  was  passing  in  the 
everyday  and  material  world. 

Jessie  sipped  the  scalding  liquid,  swallowing  each 
spoonful  with  a  tremendous  effort,  when  it  trickled  down 
the  lump  that  obstructed  larynx  and  epiglottis,  wishing, 
the  while,  that  the  doctor  would  subside  into  one  of  his 
fits  of  learned  abstraction  and  knot  his  handkerchief,  in 
stead  of  staring  so  solemnly  at  her ;  expecting,  every 
second,  to  hear  him  demand — "What  have  you  been 
crying  about,  my  daughter  \ " 

She  was  very  grateful  to  Orrin  for  his  persistent  and, 
in  the  end,  successful  atttempts  to  draw  the  fire  of  the 
searching  regards ;  and,  rallying  her  wits  and  courage, 
she,  at  last,  joined  in  the  conversation.  Mrs.  Baxter, 
likewise,  was  less  voluble  than  was  her  wont.  Appreciat 
ing  the  fact,  recognized  by  the  majority  of  his  acquaint 
ances,  that  Mr.  Wyllys  was  not  a  marrying  man,  she 
aroused  herself  to  ponder,  in  serious  earnest,  upon  what 


JESSAMINE.  181 

ttas  likely  to  be  the  result  of  his  fraternal  intimacy  with 
her  ward.  Orrin  had  made  all  straight  with  her  ut  the 
outset,  even  before  Jessie  entered  her  house  as  a  visitor, 
by  representing  himself  as  an  old  friend  of  the  family, 
and  speaking  of  Mr.  Kirke's  daughter  in  a  grandfatherly 
strain,  that  entitled  him  to  become  the  platonic  cavalier  of 
the  rustic  debutante.  But  platonic  grandfathers  did  not 
squeeze  pretty  girls'  hands  en  tete-d-tete  in  the  twilight 
— "  ci  they  should  not,"  reasoned  the  duenna  ;  and 
Jessie"1  s  red  eyes  and  pallid  complexion  increased  her 
misgivings  to  dreads.  She  had  been  asleep  all  winter 
until  to-night,  she  thought,  slmdderingly,  and  had  awak 
ened  upon  the  edge  of  a  precipice.  If  through  her 
neglect  or  misplaced  confidence,  Ginevra's  child  should 
come  to  grief,  she  would  rue,  to  the  latest  day  of  her 
life,  the  invitation  that  had  enticed  her  from  home  and 
safety,  to  lose  her  heart  to  the  designing  arts  of  a  man  of 
the  world. 

Orrin  had  small  temptation  to  prolong  his  stay  into  the 
evening.  There  was  incipient  disfavor  in  the  hostess' 
eye,  which  was  not  neutralized  by  her  stereotyped  smile. 
The  doctor  betook  himself  to  his  study  when  he  arose 
from  the  table,  and  Jessie  shaded  her  face  from  fire  and 
lamp-light  by  a  hand-screen,  complaining  that  she  was 
stupid  after  her  walk  in  the  wind. 

"  I  promised  to  go  up  to  Judge  Provost's  to-night,"  he 
said,  at  the  end  of  an  unsatisfactory  half  hour.  "  Won't 
yon  join  our  party  for  billiards  and  music?  Miss  Fanny 
charged  me  not  to  come  without  you." 

Jessie  did  not  raise  her  regards  from  the  screen. 

"  No,  thank  you  !  I  have  had  enough  billiards  for  one 
day.  And  I  am  in  an  intensely  unmusical  humor." 


15i!  JESSAMINE. 

"I  really  ought  to  'do'  the  polite  to  Miss  Sanfoid," 
continued  he,  lightly  to  Mrs.  Baxter's  ears,  significantly 
to  Jessie's.  "  I  have  been  shamefully  remiss  since  liei 
appearance  among  us.  Miss  Fanny  took  me  to  task  foi 
it,  an  evening  or  two  since,  and  I  was  obliged  to  plead 
'  Guilty.'  I  have  paid  her  very  little  attention  except  in 
public,  and  that  has  been  confined  to  a  dance  or  two  ai 
each  party." 

Mrs.  Baxter,  profoundly  indifferent  to  Miss  Sanford, 
and  the  degree  of  court  he  offered  her,  yet  strove  to  look 
interested. 

"  That  is  a  little  remarkable,  Mr.  "VVyllys,  considering 
your  reputation  for  gallantry  and  hospitality,  and  she  is 
invested  with  more  substantial  charms  than  any  of  our 
Hamilton  belles  can  boast." 

"  I  am  afraid  my  taste  for  the  substantial  has  not  been 
properly  cultivated,"  was  the  reply. 

Jessie  was  silent  and  gloomy,  and  Wyllys  secretly  lost 
patience  with  her. 

"  1  thought  her  more  of  a  woman  !  "  he  said,  inly. 
"  She  acts  like  a  fractious  child,  inconsolable  for  the  loss 
of  a  toy.  I  gave  her  credit  for  more  depth  of  feeling, 
more  power  of  endurance." 

She  called  up  a  faint  symptom  of  a  smile,  in  response 
to  his  adieux,  and  relapsed  into  taciturnity  and  the 
shadow  of  her  screen,  when  he  had  departed.  Mrs. 
Baxter  flitted  about  the  rooms  like  a  perturbed  guardian 
angel ;  poking  the  fire  that  her  charge's  feet  might  be 
warmer ;  dropping  a  curtain  to  shut  out  a  draught  from 
the  back  of  her  neck  ;  pushing  forward  a, brioche  for  her 
use,  and  giving  her  chair  a  gentle  tug  nearer  the  grate, 
before  she  essayed  verbal  consolation. 


JESSAMINE.  183 

Finally,  she  leaned  upon  the  back  of  Jessie's  seat  and 
made  several  mesmeric  passes  over  her  brow  and  scalp, 
the  fringe  of  the  scarlet  scarf  it  was  her  pleasure,  to 
night,  to  sport  twisted  around  her  right  wrist,  brushing 
the  chin,  and  tickling  the  nose  of  her  young  relative. 

"  Does  your  head  ache  very  badly  now,  my  sweet  2 " 
breathlessly  solicitous. 

"  Not  at  all — thank  you,  cousin  !  " 

"  I  am  flighted  to  hear  you  say  so  !  You  don't  think 
you  have  really  taken  cold,  my  precious: — do  you  ? " 

"  Oh,  no  !     I  never  take  cold  !  " 

"  Mr.  Wyllys  seemed  very  anxious  lest  you  had,"  Mrs. 
Baxter  remarked,  quite  too  earnestly.  "  I  say,  '  seemed,' 
for  these  ladies'  men  are  not  models  of  sincerity,  always, 
however  charming  they  may  be  as  parlor  companions. 
If  I  had  a  daughter,  my  love — and  it  is  the  great  sorrow 
of  my  life,  as  it  is  of  the  doctor's,  that  we  never  had  one 
—if  I  had  a  daughter,  just  blooming  into  womanhood, 
affectionate,  susceptible,  and  unsuspecting,  I  should  cau 
tion  her  to  be  on  her  guard  against  a  too-ready  credence 
in  the  flattering  tongues  and  the  more  insidious  flattery 
of  demeanor  and  action  of  gentlemen  who  are  honorable 
in  all  things  else.  I  respect  Mr.  Wyllys" — she  contin 
ued,  the  passes  faster  and  more  agitated,  and  the  silken 
fringes  bobbing  up  and  down  before  Jessie's  vision.  "  I 
honor  his  many  estimable — admire  his  many  shining 
qualities.  But  I  am  fearful  that  in  his  otherwise  com 
mendable  desire  to  please  and  make  happy,  he  may  ex 
cite  hopes — or  expectations  may  be  the  better  term — he 
never  intended  to  engender.  There  is  in  every  com 
munity,  my  darling  Jessie,  a  class  of  men — pardon  me 
for  saying  that  it  is  fortunately  a  small  class — who  do 


184  JESSAMINE. 

not  care  or  intend  to  marry  except  for  convenience,  or 
pecuniaiy  gain — perhaps  not  even  then.  Yet  they  are 
generally  the  pets  of  their  respective  circles,  especial  fav 
orites  with  ladies.  Why,  I  cannot  say,  unless  it  be  that 
they  endeavor  to  make  themselves  agreeable  to  the  entire 
sex,  instead  of  concentrating  their  attentions  upon  one 
woman.  Mr.  Wyllys  is  a  notable  example  of  this  order 
of  carpet  knights." 

Entirely  out  of  breath  by  this  time,  she  withdrew  her 
land  from  her  guest's  head,  to  press  it  upon  her  own  pal 
pitating  bosom,  while  her  gulp  of  emotion  was  as  loud  as 
the  cluck  of  a  brooding  hen. 

Jessie  lowered  her  screen  with  a  gesture  of  haughty 
amusement. 

"  If  your  object  is  to  warn  me  against  attaching  undue 
importance  to  Mr.  Wyllys'  friendly  attentions,  Cousin,  I 
can  disabuse  your  mind  of  fears  for  my  peace  of  heart, 
by  assuring  you  that  it  is  not  threatened  from  that  quar 
ter.  I  ought  to  have  told  you,  long  ago,  of  a  circum 
stance  that  exculpates  Mr.  Wyllys  from  the  charge  of 
trifling,  and  renders  the  notice  he  bestows  upon  me  alto 
gether  harmless  and  proper.  I  am  engaged  to  be  mar 
ried  to  his  cousin,  Mr.  Fordham,  and  lie  knows  it.  This 
makes  all  safe  for  us  both — does  it  not  ?  I  am  sorry  I 
did  not  apprize  you  of  this  state  of  affairs  when  I  first 
came  to  you.  It  would  have  been  more  honorable  and 
kind  to  you — and  an  act  of  common  justice  to  Mr.  Ford- 
ham,  if  not  to  Mr.  Wyllys." 


bank, 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

HERE  was  no  prettier  spot  in  the  Dundee  valley 
than  Willow  Creek,  a  somewhat  wide,  and  in  some 
places  deep,  stream,  just  where  it  was  spanned  by 
a  rustic  bridge  at  the  bottom  of  the  Parsonage 
meadows.  The  fringe  of  willows  on  the  thither 
and  the  alder  and  birch  thicket  studding  that 
nearest  the  house,  were  reflected  in  the  clear,  brown  mir 
ror  to  the  tiniest  leaf  and  bud.  Beneath  and  between 
these,  there  were  stretches  of  turf  which  were  evergreen; 
beds  of  wild  balsam  that  flowered  all  summer ;  ferns  in 
variety  and  profusion,  from  the  tree-ferns  upborne  by 
their  wiry  black  stems  to  a  height  of  four  or  five  feet,  to 
the  delicate  maiden-hair,  hiding  in  the  lee  of  straws  and 
Btones ;  and  on  the  day  we  are  .describing — the  fifth  of 
September — these  alternated  with  borders  of  hoary 
mountain  sage,  blue-eyed  asters,  tossing  plumes  of  golden- 
rod,  yet  taller  purple  brush,  stiff  and  gorgeous,  and 
patches  of  bright  yellow  dodder,  running  riotously  into 


186  JESSAMINE. 

the  water,  and  entangling  the  commoner  arrow-leaf  and 
Bedge  in  its  meshes. 

Through  the  gorge  worn  by  the  creek  in  the  moun 
tains,  one  had  a  view  of  the  upper  valley,  and  the  chain 
of  hills  that  grew  bluer  and  lower  as  the  eye  pursued 
their  southerly  course.  Below  the  bridge  was  tlie  church, 
benignant  warder  of  the  plain  fertile  as  was  that  of 
Sodom,  loaded  with  corn,  ripe  for  cutting,  and  already 
stacked  for  the  garner,  and  white,  here  and  there,  as  from 
untimely  snows,  with  blossoming  buckwheat.  The  whistle 
of  the  quail  in  the  stubble,  the  rattling  roll  of  empty 
farm  wagons  over  the  stone  bridge  below  the  mill,  on 
their  way  to  the  field  ;  the  duller  thunder  of  heavily 
laden  trains  creaking  and  swaying  from  side  to  side  be 
hind  the  straining  oxen,  and  the  drowsy  undertone  of  the 
mill-wheel,  mingled  with  the  nearer  warble  of  birds  in 
the  trees  and  the  gentle  wash  of  the  waves  under  the 
willows.  It  was  bright,  benignant  weather — a  day  that 
reminded  one  of  healthy,  active,  happy  middle-age,  for 
there  was  a  whisper  of  Autumn  in  the  air,  the  mellowness 
of  Autumnal  light  over  plain  and  water  and  hill. 

There  was  nothing  in  landscape,  air,  or  sunlight  that 
should  have  reminded  Jessie  Kirke  of  the  miserable 
February  afternoon  when  she  stood  on  the  Hamilton 
bridge,  staring  down  at  the  black  ice  below,  and  fought 
her  first  battle  of  life.  But  that  other  scene  and  the 
strife  of  that  hour  were  very  present  to  her,  as  she  halted 
on  the  foot-bridge  and  leaned  over  the  rail  to  gaze  at  the 
slow,  smooth  current  of  the  creek.  The  narrow  crossing 

/  o 

had  been  designed  and  partly  built  by  Mr.  Kirke  him 
self.  The  floor  was  of  oak  plank  ;  the  railing  was  com 
posed  of  cedar  branches  with  the  bark  left  on,  arranged 


JESSAMINE.  187 

in  fantastic  figures,  and  surmounted  by  a  slender  pole 
of  the  same  wood.  Many  stopped  to  examine  and  admire 
it  in  passing  over,  and  it  made  a  picturesque  feature  in 
the  view.  It  was  familiar  in  every  joint  to  Jessie,  having 
formed  a  part  of  her  favorite  walk  for  ten  years  ;  but  she 
chose  to  linger  there  on  this  morning,  to  hang  over  the 
parapet,  pick  bits  of  bark  from  the  side  and  fling  them 
into  the  creek,  as  an  idle  child  might  launch  and  watch  a 
miniature  fleet. 

It  was  a  face  many  removes  from  childhood's  thought 
lessness  and  childish  glee  that  looked  back  at  her  from 
the  glassy  surface.  A  face,  wild-eyed  and  haggard,  with 
bent  brows  betokening  suffering  and  conflict ;  a  mouth 
telling,  in  piteous  and  patient  lines,  of  defeat. 

She  had  returned  from  Hamilton  in  April,  looking 
jaded  and  ill,  said  the  Dundeeians,  who  shook  sagacious 
heads  over  her  winter's  dissipation.  Her  father  and 
Eunice  attributed  her  loss  of  bloom  and  liveliness  to  too 
close  application  to  her  studies,  and  cited  her  improve 
ment  in  music,  French,  and  German,  in  proof  of  their 
theory.  She  did  not  relax  her  diligence  when  she  was 
settled  at  home.  Eunice,  whose  name  was  ;«  synonym 
for  industry,  did  not  surpass  her  in  strict  attention  to  all 
departments  of  feminine  work.  In  the  kitchen  and  the 
garden,  at  the  needle,  the  piano,  writing-desk,  and  her  books, 
she  toiled  from  sunrise  until  bedtime,  with  energy  Eunice 
silently  likened  to  gre*ediness  for  occupation  of  mind  and 
body,  while  Mr.  Ivirke  hardly  recognized  his  darling  in 
the  decorous  thrifty  housewife  and  busy  student.  Into 
nations,  phraseology,  and  deportment — all  were  altered. 
She  was  an  elegant  woman  in  appearance  and  conversa 
tion,  but  the  fond  parent  missed  the  tricksy  sprite  who 


188  JESSAMINE. 

had  wrought  mischief  and  mirth  in  his  home;  missed 
her  teasing  and  her  follies,  her  exactions  and  her  caresses. 

O  7 

Not  that  she  was  cold  or  sullen.  She  told  long  and  enter 
taining  stories  of  her  Hamilton  life ;  gave  faithful  de 
scriptions  of  the  people  and  things  she  had  seen  while 
away  from  them ;  listened  with  apparent  interest  to  neigh 
borhood  news  and  family  plans  ;  talked  of  art,  literature, 
and  philosophy  to  him  by  the  hour ;  was  attentive  to  his 
every  possible  want,  and  offered  regularly  the  morning 
and  evening  kiss  she  had  been  accustomed  to  bestow  from 
her  infancy.  But,  having  already  one  daughter  who  was 
an  exemplar  to  her  sex,  he  recollected  the  bewitching 
naughtiness  of  the  old-time  Jessie,  and  wished  fervently 
that  he  had  met  Mrs.  Baxter's  invitation  by  a  peremptory 
negative,  and  kept  his  gem  as  it  was.  To  his  taste,  it  had 
lost — not  gained — in  the  cutting  and  polishing. 

Eunice  was  discreet  when  he  intimated  something  of 
the  kind  to  her. 

"  She  is  certainly  more  quiet  and  studious,"  she  replied, 
"  but  she  says  she  is  very  well,  and  she  has  much  to  make 
her  thoughtful  in  Roy's  absence.  The  long  separation 
must,  of  itself,  oppress  her  spirits  continually.  And, 
Father,  our  Jessie  has  gained  new  views  of  Life  and  Duty 
within  the  last  year.  She  can  never  be  a  child  again. 
Her  nature — mind  and  affections — must  broaden  and 
deepen  with  time.  We  would  not  have  it  otherwise, 
strange  as  the  change  is  to  us  now.  I  fear,  though,  that 
she  works  too  hard,  while  I  honor  her  determination  to 
prepare  herself  thoroughly  for  her  future  position.  She 
will  be  a  wife  of  whom  Roy  may  justly  be  proud." 

Again,  when  Mr.  Kirke  feared  that  Jessie  was  often 
depressed  to  despondency,  although  she  strove  bravely  to 


JESSAMINE.  189 

conceal  it,  the  elder  sister  "  hoped  all  would  be  well  again 
when  Ro}'  came  back.1' 

"  He  can  reason  or  soothe  her  out  of  morbid  fancies 
better  and  sooner  than  either  you  or  I.  His  influence 
over  her  is  wonderful  and  always  beneficial." 

"  I  wish  he  were  home  again  then  !  "  sighed  the  parent. 

He  did  not  guess  how  heartily  Eunice  echoed  the  de 
sire.  She  might  be  partially  successful  in  quelling  his 
anxieties,  but  the  beryl  eyes  saw  that,  so  far  from  all 
being  right  with  her  young  sister,  something  was  lament 
ably  wrong.  Jessie's  very  manner  of  speaking  of  Roy 
and  her  marriage  was  totally  dissimilar  to  her  former 
frank  or  bashful  confession.  If  she  had  lived  with  him 
as  his  wife  a  dozen  years,  she  could  not  have  mentioned 
his  name  more  composedly,  or  talked  of  housekeeping  and 
other  practicalities  in  a  more  matter-of-fact  strain.  This 
was  exceedingly  sensible,  but  it  was  not,  on  that  account, 
the  more  like  Jessie.  The  transformation  from  an  en 
thusiastic  madcap,  who  did  and  felt  nothing  by  halves — 
let  it  be  loving,  laughing,  sorrowing,  or  working — into 
the  dignified  partner  of  Eunice's  everyday  cares  and 
duties,  equable  in  temper,  reliable  in  judgment,  and  ju 
dicious  in  action — ought,  perhaps,  to  have  elicited  com 
mendation  from  one  who  was  herself  a  model  in  all  these 
respects ;  but,  instead  of  gratification,  she  felt  only  be 
wilderment  and  alarm  at  the  completeness  of  the  change. 
It  had  been  her  habit  to  think  and  say,  when  her  sister's 
crudities  or  extravagances  were  more  marked  than  her 
quieter  taste  approved,  that  the  discipline  of  life,  as  life 
wont  on,  would  rectify  these  ;  that  they  were  but  the  re 
dundant  growth  of  a  noble  stock.  A  little  pruning — a 
few  sharp  experiences,  and  hypercritical  indeed  would  be 


190  JESSAMINE. 

the  judgment  that  should  find  room  for  blame.  She  was 
displeased  with  herself  in  recollecting  this,  now  that  the 
discipline  had  wrought  upon  the  free,  wild  spirit;  the 
redundancies  had  fallen  under  the  priming-knife. 

Something  of  this  external  change  must  have  mani 
fested  itself  in  Jessie's  letters,  for  Roy  had  twice  written 
privately  to  Eunice,  questioning  her  closely  about  her  sis 
ter's  health  and  spirits. 

"  Her  letters  are  as  regular  as  ever,  and  no  less  beauti 
ful  than  punctual,"  he  said.  "  But  they  contain  so  few 
particulars  of  her  daily  life  and  feelings,  while  they  treat 
freely  of  other  subjects,  that  I  have  fancied  there  is 
r.omething  pertaining  to  her  individual  experience  she 
desires  to  hide  from  me,  lest  the  knowledge  of  it  should 
pain  me.  My  noble,  generous  girl !  She  would  boar  any 
distress  or  inconvenience  rather  than  afflict  me  by  reveal 
ing  the  extent  of  her  suffering  or  perplexity.  I  intrust 
my  sometimes  wayward — always  sweet,  graceful,  and 
clinging  Jessamine  to  you,  our  sister  !  Tend  and  guard  it 
tenderly  for  me." 

Eunice  answered  hopefully  and  with  such  reassurance 
as  she  could  truthfully  impart,  and  wished  more  ardently 
than  ever  that  he  would  return  and  assume  the  charge  of 
his  treasure — the  charge  and  the  cure. 

They  had  had  a  quiet  summer,  the  most  stirring  event 
being  a  visit  from  Mrs.  Baxter  and  Orrin  Wyllys,  who 
acted  as  her  escort.  They  were  domesticated  for  a  week 
at  the  parsonage,  and  Jessie's  monopoly  of  her  cousin's 
society  had  left  Orrin  almost  entirely  to  her  father's  and 
sister's  care.  Nobody  made  verbal  objection  to  this  di 
vision  of  hospitable  duties.  Mr.  Wyllys  held  long  talks 
with  his  host — scientific,  theological,  literary,  and  political 


JESSAMINE. 

• — during  post  prandial  smokes,  besides  driving  arid  walk 
ing  with  him  in  his  professional  rounds  at  such  seas  ms  as 
Eunice  was  too  busy  to  attend  to. her  guests.  When  she 
was  at  liberty  to  devote  herself  to  social  duties,  there  were 
hours  of  music  and  reading ;  long  rambles  among  the 
hills — Mrs.  Baxter  and  Jessie  far  in  advance— for  the 
latter  always  outstripped  her  sister  in  pedestrian  expedi 
tions  ;  moonlight  promenades  and  conferences  on  the 
piazza  that  left  Jessie  all  the  time  she  desired  for  conver 
sation  with  her  late  chaperone.  It  was  generally  agreed 
at  parting  that  the  week  had  passed  swiftly  and  delight 
fully  ;  farewells  were  linked  with  hopes  of  a  repetition  of 
the  pleasure,  and  the  household  relapsed  into  its  ordina 
ry  aspect  and  ways.  If  there  were  any  perceptible  dif 
ference  in  those  composing  it,  it  was  that  Jessie  worked 
harder  and  was  paler  than  before  the  interruption,  \vhilo 
Eunice  grew  younger  and  prettier  every  day. 

"•  I  have  tried  very  hard ! "  Jessie  said  alo'^,  still 
hanging  over  the  water,  but  clasping  her  hands  In  a  sort 
of  despair.  "  And  I  am  very  tired  !  " 

Then  two  heavy  tears  rolled  from  her  eyes  an<«  broke  up 
the  reflection  of  the  sad  face  below  into  litUo  dancing 
circles. 

An  hour  ago,  as  she  stood  in  the  garden  grafting  a  rose 
bush,  a  neighbor  rode  up  to  the  fence  to  say,  "  Good-day," 
and  inquire  after  the  health  of  the  clergyman's  family. 

"  You'll  have  company  pretty  soon,  I'm  thinking/'  he 
said,  knowingly.  "  I  suppose  that's  no  news  to  you, 
though  ? " 

"  We  expect  no  one,"  said  Jessie,  carelessly. 

"It  will  be  a  pleasant  surprise  to  you,  then.  1  saw 
Mr.  Wyllys  at  the  hotel  as  I  came  by." 


192  JESSAMINE. 

Jessie's  knife  swerved  slightly  as  she  made  the  in 
cision  in  the  bark,  but  her  voice  was  firm. 

"  Are  you  sure  ? " 

t:  Oh,  yes !  I  talked  with  him.  He  got  up  late  last 
night,  he  said.  Come  now,  Miss  Jessie ;  I  am  an  old 
frieYid,  which  of  you  is  he  after  ? " 

"  Neither  that  I  know  of.  Certainly  not  me  !  "  replied 
she,  imperturbably. 

She  finished  her  task  carefully,  when  the  inquisitor  had 
passed ;  carried  twine  and  scissors  into  the  house ;  gave 
Patsey  an  order  as  she  glanced  into  the  kitchen,  and,  un 
observed  by  the  servant,  left  the  dwelling  and  went  down 
through  the  garden  into  the  meadow. 

Her  father  and  Eunice  were  away  from  home  for  the 
day — probably  for  the  night  also,  and  she  had  her  reasons 
for  preferring  the  solitude  of  the  woods,  or  a  retreat  among 
the  crags  of  Old  Windbeam,  to  a  prolonged  interview  with 
Orrin  Wyllys. 

Did  I  say,  "  preferred  "  ?  Does  not  the  opium-eater,  in 
his  lucid  intervals,  prefer  thirst  and  languor  and  pain  to 
the  drug  for  which  his  diseased  appetite  cries  out  as  the 
dying  for  breath,  and  the  fever-scorched  for  water?  Pre 
fer  it  with  mind  and  conscience,  if  not  with  flesh  and 
will?  Jessie  Kirke's  will  lived  yet,  and  it  had  borne  her 
beyond  the  reach  of  temptation  and  kept  her  there.  But 
it  did  not  hinder  her  from  picturing  Orrin  pacing  the 
portico,  or,  sitting  in  the  parlor,  awaiting  her  while  she 
hid  herself  and  her  wretchedness  amonff  the  willows. 

o 

She  had  but  to  go  back  by  the  way  she  had  come,  and 
hours  of  blissful  companionship  would  be  hers ;  full 
draughts  of  enjoyment  such  as  those  which  had  intoxi 
cated  the  unwary  girl  who,  last  winter,  had  believed  that 


JESSAMINE.  193 

eiic  might  drink  and  be  blameless.  His  eyes  would  kin 
dle  into  the  magic  gleam  that  enervated  resolution  and 
let  loose  a  flood  of  vague,  delicious  fancies  upon  her 
I  Tain  ;  his  voice  melt  into  the  modulations  that  enchained 
[ho  ear  like  pathetic  music.  Under  the  spell  of  his  con 
summate  address  she  would  believe,  for  the  moment,  or 
the  hour,  or  the  day  he  spent  with  her,  all  that  he  said  or 
looked,  although  dimly  conscious,  the  while,  that  she 
would  despise  herself  as  a  weak,  guilty  fool  for  the  tem 
porary  faith,  through  weeks  and  months  afterward. 

As  she  did  now !     She  was  wrung  by  self-contempt 
for  nursino;  these  imaginations,  vet  dallied  with  them — 

O  O  t     v 

sipped  shudderingly,  yet  with  avidity,  of  their  dangerous 
sweetness. 

"  I  have  tried  very  hard  !  "  she  moaned  again. 
Tried  to  hold  fast  to  her  trust  in  her  betrothed  after  the 
cruel  shock  it  had  sustained  from  Hester  Sanford's  story, 
For  she  still  believed  that  it  was  firm  and  absolute  up  to 
(•hat  hour;  ignored  persistently  the  fact  that  other  influ 
ences  had  previously  been  at  work  sapping  her  confidence! 
in  the  attachment  of  one  who,  his  nearest  of  kin  reluc- 
.intly  admitted,  was  a  man  of  granite,  virtuously  severe 
)  the  frailties  of  others,  because  he  was  himself  prudent, 
age,  and  incorruptible  by  such  bribes  as  most  men  found 
>otent — love,  and  the  hope  and  opportunity  of  making 
he   beloved   one  happy.     Not  one  word    of    this   had 
Vyllys  ever  uttered.     He  always  spoke  of  Roy  with  scri- 
usness   and    respect,  confessing  voluntarily,  time    and 
gain,  his  own  moral  and  intellectual  inferiority  to  his 
ousin,  and  scrupulously  keeping  her  betrothment  before 
essie's  mind.     Whatever  might   have  been  her  lapses 
AMU  loyalty,  she  could  not  deny  that  in  this  oft-repeated 
9 


194  JESSAMINE. 

acknowledgment  of  her  paramount  obligation  to  her 
affianced  husband,  Orrin  had  been  honorable  to  punctil 
iousness.  She  had  not  yet  come  to  see  that  he  had  also 
been  ingenious  in  pressing  invisible  shackles  into  her 
soul ;  in  reminding  her  perpetually  that  she  was  no  lon 
ger  a  free  agent.  The  girl  had  chafed  under  the  process, 
without  knowing  that  she  did  so,  and  why.  Her  broth 
erly  friend,  who  had  seen  a  blooded  horse,  although 
docile  by  nature  and  well  broken  in,  fret  and  grow  rest 
ive-  under  an  over-tight  check-rein,  may  have  known,  bet 
ter  than  she,  what  he  was  about. 

She  was  still  uncertain  how  much  or  how  little  truth 
there  was  in  the  heiress'  tale.  She  had  contrived  to  see 
her  but  seldom  after  the  scene  in  the  billiard-room,  and 
in  this  she  was  ably  seconded  by  Miss  Sanford  when  the 
news  of  "  that  Miss  Kirke's "  engagement  to  Professor 
Fordham  was  circulated  in  Hamilton  circles.  Jessie  did 
not  try  to  analyze  the  impulse  that  bade  her  announce 
the  relation  she  bore  to  Roy  at  the  very  time  when  her 
doubts  of  him  were  at  their  height.  Perhaps  she  felt 
the  need  of  a  safeguard  for  herself;  or  her  conscience 
may  have  rebuked  her  that  she  had  not  defended  him — 
right  or  wrong — when  attacked  ;  or  the  suspicion  of  his 
unworthiness  stimulated  her  to  a  strained  generosity,  a. 
resolve  to  leave  undone  no  part  of  the  duty  she  owed,  i 
while  she  was  under  contract  to  him.  It  had  been  ] 
long  since  her  latest  mention  of  the  matter  to  Wyllys. 
He  had  replied  to  her  queries  by  an  injunction  to  con 
tinued  confidence  in  Roy's  integrity,  which  was  construed 
by  her  into  a  charitable  evasion.  He  promised  again  i 
and  solemnly  to  push  his  investigations  as  occasion  might  '• 
offer,  but  she  believed  that  he  was  afraid  to  keep  hig  \ 


JESSAMINE.  195 

word.  He  would  preserve  intact  his  own  love  and  es 
teem  for  the  cousin  he  professed  to  revere,  and  blindly 
declined  to  undertake  the  examination  of  a  record  he 
more  than  feared  contained  entries  that  would  lower  hia 
opinion  of  his  hero,  and  damage  the  latter's  character 
irretrievably  with  herself. 

Given  this  lever  of  unappeased  distrust  in,  and  latent 
resentment  toward  him,  to  whom  her  allegiane^  was  due, 
and  a  less  adroit  diplomat  than  Orrin  Wyllys  might 
have  so  weakened  the  defences  of  her  love  and  con- 
s fancy  as  to  make  her  question  whether  surrender  were 
not  unavoidable — even  desirable.  She  was  "tired,"  poor 
child  !  dismayed  that  her  labor  in  "deep  mid-ocean"  was 
so  tedious  and  severe,  longing  for  rest  in  whatever  port 
her  worn  heart  might  make. 

"  I  shall  be  tamed  by  the  time  you  come  home,"  she 
had  said,  'twixt  tears  and  smiles,  to  Roy  at  their  parting. 
"  Quite  tame  and  old  !  " 

"  And  I  am ! "  she  thought,  the  jest  recurring  to  her 
now.  "  Only  life  has  also  grown  tame,  and  the  world  old 
and  gray  !  " 

She  had  swung  her  hat  upon  her  arm,  and  pushing 
back  her  hair  with  the  palms  that  supported  her  fore 
head,  that-  the  wind  from  the  water  might  cool  her  beat 
ing  temples,  she  rested  her  listless  weight  upon  tue  irail 
railing.  The  woven  twigs,  once  supple,  were  dry  and 
rotten  under  the  bark,  and  swayed  outward  with  a  sharp 
crack — a  warning  that  came  too  late  to  save  her.  She 
caught,  in  falling,  at  the  shattered  panels  left  standing, 
and  dragged  only  a  handful  of  broken  sticks  with  her 
into  the  creek.  Coining  to  the  surface  after  the  plunge, 
she  threw  her  grasping,  struggling  hands  widely  abroad, 


196  JESSAMINE. 

succeeded  in  seizing  one  of  the  upright  supports  of  the 
brido-e,  and  clunsr  to  it.  Her  head  and  shoulders  were 

o    /  o 

out  of  wat3r.  She  was  not  actually  drowning.  In  the 
strength  imparted  by  this  consciousness,  she  drew  a  long 
breath,  and  called  for  help. 

A  faint  echo  came  back  from  the  hills.  The  rest  of 
the  shout  was  lost  in  the  spreading  meadows,  or  over 
powered  h-  the  commingled  sounds  that  were  the  voice 
of  the  early  autumn  day. 

She  heard  them  more  distinctly  than  when  she  had 
stood  upon  the  bridge;  the  beat  of  the  mill-wheel,  the 
rattle  and  rumble  of  the  farm-wagons,  even  the  tr^ad  of 
the  teams  upon  the  oaken  flooring ;  the  now  distant 
whistle  of  the  quail,  and,  close  beside  her,  the  lapping  of 
the  creek  among  the  sedges. 

She  weighed  her  chances  of  speedy  release  from  her  un 
pleasant  and  dangerous  situation  before  she  raised  another 
outcry.  The  stream  was  the  feeder  of  the  mill-pond,  and 
was  made  deeper  and  more  sluggish  by  the  dam,  less  than 
half  a  mile  farther  down.  She  remembered  to  have 
heard  that  the  depth  just  under  the  bridge  was  about  ten 
feet.  It  might  as  well  be  a  hundred  if  she  were  to  relin 
quish  her  hold.  She  could  do  nothing  but  cling  and  wait 
until  her  calls  should  bring  rescue,  or  some  chance  pas 
senger  espy  her.  This  was  an  unfrequented  by-way,  and  it 
might  be  many  hours  before  assistance  came  to  her  in 
the  latter  form.  As  to  the  other,  the  Parsonage  was  the 
nearest  dwelling.  The  mill  was  no  farther  off,  but  the 
united  shriek  of  twenty  drowning  women  could  not  be 
heard  above  the  clatter  of  the  machinery.  Patsey  was 
alone  in  the  kitchen,  her  whole  soul  in  her  semi-weekly 
baking,  and  deaf  to  all  out-door  noises  excepting  those 


JESSAMINE.  107 

from  the  poultry -yard.  There  was  no  one  else  in  the 
house,  unless  Orrin  had  arrived.  Jessie  believed  that  she 
tasted  the  bitterness  of  death,  as  she  imagined  him,  ex 
pectant  of  her  coming:,  yet  thoughtless  of  evil  as  the  rea- 
ton  of  her  delay,  taking  a  few  restless  turns  upon  the 
portico  ;  then,  wandering  into  the  parlor,  and  standing,  as 
he  often  did,  for  several  minntes  together,  gazing  at  the 
picture  of  the  girl  at  the  wishing-well ;  opening  the  piano 
and  running  over  some  remembered  air,  or  improvising 
dreamy,  wistful  strains,  with  absent  thoughts,  and  eyes 
iixed  upon  vacancy. 

And  she  was  here  !  nearing  the  gates  that  were  to  shut 
do\vn  between  them  forever. 

She  called  again — a  shrill  scream  that  scared  the  birds 
from  their  perches  on  the  willow  and  birch  boughs,  and 
awoke  a  wailing  echo  among  the  mountains.  Then  all 
was  quiet,  save  for  the  mill,  the  fainter  roll  of  heavy 
wheels,  and,  louder  than  either,  the  lap !  lap !  lap  1  of  the 
waves  upon  the  grassy  bank.  How  deadly  cold  the  water 
was !  And  she  became  sensible  now  of  an  increasing 
weight  drawing  her  downward — the  strain  of  her  satu 
rated  garments  upon  the  arms  wound  about  the  rough 
pole  which  stood  between  her  and  death.  There  was  a 
current,  also,  to  be  resisted,  placid  as  the  mirror  had 
seemed  from  above,  and  her  sinews  were  aching  already. 
Her  whole  body  would  be  numb  presently — her  clutch 
be  relaxed  by  cold  and  the  prostration  of  the  nervous  and 
muscular  system. 

She  had  decried  life  as  tame,  and  the  world  as  unlovely. 
She  found  them,  in  this  fearfully  honest  hour,  too  dear 
and  beautiful  to  leave  thus  suddenly.  She  recollected, 
in  this  season  of  peril  and  dread,  the  oft- repeated 


198  JESSAMINE. 

story  that  one  in  the  act  of  drowning  recalls,  in  a  flash  of 
memory,  every  event  of  his  past  existence,  however  re 
mote  and  minute  ;  reasoned  within  herself  that  this  must 
be  an  old  wives'  fable,  since  she,  on  the  brink  of  eternity, 
had  but  one  overmastering  idea — how  to  avert  impending 
dissolution.  Her  father,  Eunice,  Roy,  and  Orrin,  were 
all  in  her  mind  by  turns,  but  there  was  no  quickening  of 
affection  now  that  she  might  be  leaving  them  to  re 
turn  no  more.  They  were,  in  comparison  with  the  terri 
ble  fact  of  her  present  danger,  but  misty  and  far-off  ab 
stractions — faded  portraits  in  her  mental  gallery,  hardly 
deserving  a  glance.  She  dwelt,  in  agony,  upon  the  cir 
cumstances  that  the  stream  was  becoming  like  ice  to  her 
limbs,  and  the  pain  in  her  arms  intense,  while  her  soaked 
clothing  and  the  current  were  sucking  her  downward. 
"When  the  last  remnant  of  her  strength  should  fail,  would 
she  be  drowned  by  the  cruel  waters  where  she  had  fallen 
in,  or  borne,  conscious,  and  writhing  in  the  throes  of  suf 
focation,  over  the  dam,  to  be  mangled  by  the  rocks  below 
the  fall? 

The  horror  of  the  last  fancy  drew  from  her  another 
shriek.  The  echo  taunted  her  by  its  feeble  mimickry ; 
the  dull  boom  of  the  mill-wheel,  the  teamster's  shout  to 
his  oxen,  had  the  same  meaning,  and  the  lapping  of  the 
water  was  that  of  a  fierce  destroyer,  hungering  for  his 
prey. 

Meanwhile,  the  visitor  at  the  Parsonage  had  been 
through  the  round  Jessie  had  sketched  for  him  in  her 
tortured  imagination  ;  had  paced  the  porch  until  he  was 
weary  of  the  solitary  turns ;  surveyed  the  portrait  to  his 
heart's  content,  regretting,  in  his  aesthetic  rnind,  that  the 
original  had  toned  down  to  the  level  of  commonplace  re- 


JESSAMINE.  199 

fi. lenient,  and  had  played  a  pensive  "  thought"  on  the 
piano. 

This  performance  brought  in  Patsey. 

"  Dick  Van  Brunt  was  by  the  gate  just  now,  Mr.  Wyl- 
lys,  and  he  said  as  how  he  seen  Miss  Jessie  going  down 
toward  the  crick,  nigh  upon  an  hour  ago.  You  mought 
pee  something  of  her  if  you  was  to  walk  that  way." 

"  Thank  you,  Patsey.  Perhaps  I  will  if  she  do  not 
come  in  soon.  And  perhaps  I  'mought'  make  a  fool  of 
myself ,  clambering  over  those  confounded  mountain-paths 
for  half  a  day,  and  not  get  a  glimpse  of  her!"  he  mut 
tered,  when  the  handmaiden  had  withdrawn. 

Tic  stepped  through  the  oriel-window  into  the  garden, 
humming,  sotto  voce,  "  My  heart's  in  the  Tlielands,  my 
heart  is  not  here ; "  made  the  tour  of  the  enclosure,  noting 
how  Eunice's  rose  labyrinth  had  grown,  and  that  the  rarer 
plants  he  had  sent  her  in  the  Spring  were  recompensing 
her  for  the  care  she  had  bestowed  upon  them ;  brushed 
both  hands  over  a  bed  of  bergamot  until  the  air  reeked 
M  ith  perfume,  and  plucked  a  sprig  of  rosemary  from  the 
spot  where  he  had  stood  to  overhear  the  sisters'  criticisms 
of  himself  sixteen  months  before — smiling  queerly  as  he 
did  so. 

"  I  will  send  the  fair  Una  a  root  of  '  Caesar's  Bay,'  with 
the  stipulation  that  she  shall  set  it  just  here,"  he  said,  in 
wardly,  the  smile  brightening  at  the  apt  conceit.  "  It 
shall  be  to  me  a  floral  monument — a  Cupid's  Ebenezer." 

lie  gathered,  furthermore,  several  bunches  of  choice 
roses,  rifling  them  of  their  freshest  odor  by  ruthless  hand« 
ling,  and  strewing  them  to  the  right  and  left  as  he  went 
from  the  garden  into  the  meadow.  The  day  was  fine, 
and  not  warm  enough  to  make  walking  a  grievous  task, 


200  JESSAMINE. 

and  ho  might  find  Jessie  at  or  near  the  bridge.  lie 
whistled  "  Casta  Diva"  as  he  strolled  over  the  short,  thick 
grass,  elastic  to  the  foot  as  carpets  of  the  deepest  pile,—  • 
whistled  melodiously,  and,  one  would  have  said,  for  want 
of  thought,  in  remarking  his  roving  eyes  and  tranquil 
physiognomy.  He  looked,  as  he  felt,  on  excellent  terms 

1         t-  O  \J 

with  himself  and  the  rest  of  the  world  ;  like  a  man  who 
had  eaten  to  satisfaction,  but  not  to  repletion,  of  the 
feu  nny  side  of  the  peach  tendered  by  Fortune,  and  who 
was  suitably  grateful  to  the  person  to  whom  he  considered 
that  he  owed  his  success  in  life — to  wit,  Orrin  Wyllys. 

What  a  companion  portrait  to  set  over  against  this 
serene  visage  and  lounging  figure  in  the  pleasant  meadow- 
paths  was  that,  which,  with  distorted  limbs,  and  counte 
nance  eager  to  frenzy,  hung  midway  over  the  stream  he 
was  approaching !  Jessie  had  heard  the  whistle,  and 
known  it  for  his ;  caught  from  afar  his  measured  tread 
upon  the  sward,  and,  feeling  herself  grow  weak  and 
voiceless  in  the  rush  of  reviving  hope,  had  painfully 
gathered  her  remaining  forces  to  abide  his  coming.  She 
could  see  him  through  rifts  in  the  low-branching  birches; 
counted  every  step  with  trembling  impatience  until  he  was 
within  a  stone's  throw. 

Then  she  signalled  him  in  a  husky,  dissonant  voice  that 
shocked  herself,  fainting  though  she  was  with  suspense, 
intent  only  upon  watching  his  movements,  which  meant 
to  her  deliverance,  sure  and  swift. 

"  Orrin  !  make  haste  !  I  am  perishing  !  " 

A  glimpse  of  the  broken  railing  told  him  all. 

Tearing  off  his  coat  as  he  ran,  he  leaped  into  the  creek, 
swam  out  to  her,  and  bade  her  loosen  her  hold,  and  re 
main  perfectly  quiet. 


JESSAMINE.  201 

"  Don't  seize  me  !  I  will  save  you  !  Trust  me !  "  he 
said,  in  authority  she  did  not  dream  of  resisting. 

In  a  minute  more  he  had  dragged  her  through  the 
water  and  laid  her  upon  the  warm  turf,  where  the  sun 
fell  in  brightness  that  meant  comfort  to  her  now  as  em 
phatically  as  the  wavering  glitter  upon  the  stream  had 
signified  derision  of  her  sufferings  when  she  was  very 
niffh  to  death. 

o 

In  all  their  intercourse,  Orrin  had  never  spoken  words 
that  came  so  directly  from  what  had  once  been  a  heart,  as 
those  that  stirred  the  languid  pulses  and  brought  back  the 
fleeting  senses  of  the  forlorn  creature  who  lay  gasping 
within  his  arms — livid,  sodden,  almost  lifeless. 

"Darling  Jessie!  Precious  child  !  Thank  Heaven,  I 
was  in  time  !  " 

The  blue  lips  were  touched  by  a  smile ;  her  eyes  un 
closed  upon  his  with  a  look  of  worshipful  love  and  grati 
tude  that  appealed  to  meaner  elements  of  his  character 
than  those  that  had  prompted  his  first  outburst.  He  was 
himself  again  as  his  gaze  kindled  into  responsive  softness 
and  tire. 

•'  My  love  !  "  he  murmured,  bending  to  kiss  her.  "  May 
I  not  call  you  so  for  one  blessed  instant  ?  My  only  love, 
and  mine  alone  !  " 


CHAPTER  XIT. 

R.  KIRKE  and  Eunice  were  still  absent  when  Or- 
rin  paid  his  second  call  at  the  Parsonage  that  day. 
He  had  conducted  Jessie  home  in  the  forenoon— a 
drenched  and  shivering  figure,  at  winch  Patsey 
screeched  with  terror ;  stayed  long  enough  to 
learn  from  the  girl  that  the  preventives  he  had  ordered 
against  cold  were  administered,  and  that  her  young  mis 
tress  was  put  comfortably  to  bed,  after  which  he  betook 
himself  to  the  hotel  to  make  the  requisite  changes  in  his 
own  apparel. 

"Miss  Jessie  hopes  you'll  stay  here,  sir,"  remarked 
Patsey.  "  She  says  you'll  find  dry  things  in  Mr.  Kirke's 
room.  I've  just  laid  'em  out  all  ready." 

"  I  am  much  obliged  to  Miss  Jessie  and  to  you,  my  good 
girl ;  but  I  shall  run  no  risk  in  going  down  to  the  village. 
Say  to  Miss  Jessie  that  she  will  hear  from,  or  see  me 
again  before  night." 

Three  hours  later,  a  messerger  brought  a  note,  inquir- 


JESSAMINE.  203 

ing  how  Jessie  was,  and  if  she  would  be  quite  able  to  see 
him  in  the  evening. 

"  For  I  must  return  to  Hamilton  to-morrow,"  he  added. 

Jessie  wrote  one  line  in  reply : 

"  I  am  up  and  well.     Come  whenever  you  please. 

Gratefully, 
J.  K." 

Tlis  pleasure  was  to  delay  the  visit  until  twilight.  Per 
haps  he  had  a  difficult  programme  to  arrange;  perhaps  he 
wanted  to  give  Jessie  time  to  recover  strength  and  com 
posure,  or  he  may  have  thought  that  delay  would  enhance 
the  value  of  his  society.  On  the  legal  principle  he  had 
enunciated  when  Roy's  prior  engagement  was  under  dis 
cussion,  we  ought  to  accept  his  own  explanation  of  his 
tardiness. 

u  I  could  not  come  earlier,"  he  said  very  gravely,  in 
reply  to  Jessie's  faltered  gratitude  and  fears  that  he  had 
suffered  from  the  morning's  adventure.  "  You  needed 
rest,  and  quiet,  and  I  have  been  unhinged  all  day — men- 
tully,  I  mean.  Don't  thank  me  again !  You  don't  know 
how  like  mockery  phrases  of  acknowledgment  from  you 
to  me  sound.  Sit  down.  You  are  still  weak  and  nervous. 
You  are  trembling  all  over." 

If  she  was,  it  was  not  from  cold  or  debility.  He  placed 
her  in  an  arm-chair,  brought  a  shawl  from  the  hall,  and 
folded  it  about  her ;  turned  away  abruptly,  and  walked 
the  room  in  a  silence  she  had  neither  words  nor  courage 
to  break.  The  piano  stood  open  as  he  had  left  it  in  the 
morning.  He  stopped  before  it  on  his  tenth  round,  seated 
himself ,  and  began  a  prelude.  Then  he  sang  the  ballad 
blie  had  crooned  in  the  amber  sunset,  so  many,  many 


201  JESSAMINE. 

months   ago!    while   ho   listened    without,  and  t  >rv.   {he 
hearts  out  of  Eunice's  roses. 

lie  gave  the  first  verse  with  tenderness  that  wa&  ex 
quisite  ;  rendered  the  musing  ecstasy  of  the  dream  witl» 
beauty  and  expression  that  thrilled  the  auditor  wit  j  deli 
clous  pain.     This  deepened  into  agony  under  the  p^sion 
ate  melancholy  of  the  last  stanza : 

"  Soon,  o'er  the  bright  waves  howled  forth  the  gale, 
Fiercely  the  lightning  flashed  on  our  sail ; 
Yet  while  our  frail  barque  drove  o'er  the  sea, 
Thine  eyes  like  loadstars  beamed,  Love,  on  me. 
Oh,  heart,  awaken !  wrecked  on  lone  shore  ! 
Thou  art  forsaken  !  Dream,  heart,  no  more  1 " 

He  came  back  to  where  she  sat — all  bowed  together, 
and  quivering  in  every  limb — and  knelt  before  her. 

"  Jessie,  I  have  dreamed,  and  I  am  awake.  I  am  heivj 
to-night,  to  ask  you  to  forgive,  not  only  the  rash,  pro 
sumptuous  words  I  spoke  this  morning,  but  the  feeling 
that  gave  them  birth.  I  have  loved  you  from  the 
moment  of  our  first  meeting.  You  and  Heaven  are  my 
witnesses  how  I  have  striven  with  my  unwarrantable  pas 
sion, — how,  persuaded  that  the  indulgence  of  this  would 
be  a  rank  offence  against  honor  and  friendship,  I  resisted 
by  feigned  coldness  your  innocent  wiles  to  win  the  good 
will  of  Roy's  relative.  I  deluded  myself,  for  a  time,  with 
tne  belief  that  I  could  control  the  proofs  of  my  affection 
within  the  bounds  of  brotherly  regard.  You  best  know 
how,  when  your  faith  in  the  truth  of  your  accepted  lover 
was  shaken,  I  became  his  champion  ;  how  conscientiously 
and  laboriously  I  have  pleaded  his  cause  with  you  ;  tried 
to  be  faithful  to  the  trust  he  hac^  reposed  in  me; — how, 
when  I  had  nearly  betrayed  myself  in  an  unguarded 


JESSAMINE.  205 

moment,  I  endeavored  to  dissipate  any  suspicions  that  my 
imprudence  might  have  awakened  in  your  mind.  Again 
and  again  I  have  avoided  you  for  days  and  months  to 
gether  ;  punished  myself  for  my  involuntary  transgression 
against  my  friend  by  denying  myself  the  sight  of  that 
Vv'hi ch  was  dearer  and  more  to  be  desired  in  my  esteem 
than  all  the  world  and  heaven  itself;  have  shut  myself 
into  outer  darkness  from  the  light  of  your  eyes  and  the 
sound  of  your  voice.  The  fruit  of  the  toils,  the  anguish, 
the  precautions  of  more  than  a  year,  was  destroyed  to-day 
by  one  outburst  of  ungovernable  emotion. 

"  I  shall  dream  no  more,  dear  !  I  solemnly  vow  this 
on  my  knees,  while  I  beg  you  to  say  that  you  do  not  de 
spise  me ! " 

The  bowed  head  was  upon  his  shoulder  now,  and  she 
was  weeping.  lie  put  his  arm  about  her,  and  held  her 
close,  while  lie  prayed  her  to  be  comforted. 

'•  I  have  cost  you  many  painful  thoughts,  and  not  a  few 
tears  since  the  day  when  you  told  me  the  story  of  old 
David  Dundee,  over  there  in  the  window,"  he  said,  sadly. 
"  It  would  have  been  better — much  better  for  you  h;;d  you 
never  seen  or  heard  of  me.  These  tears  are  all  for  me, 
I  know.  But,  indeed,  darling,  I  am  not  worthy  of  one 
of  them.  They  make  me  feel  yet  more  keenly  what  a 
villain  I  must  seem  to  you." 

''  Don't  say  that !  "  she  burst  forth.  "  If  you  are  un 
worthy  in  your  own  sight,  what  must  I  think  of  my  con 
duct  \  You  were  under  no  vow ;  had  professed  to  love 
no  other,  had  entered  into  no  compact  in  the  name  of 
God,  to  be  constant  to  one — one  only — while  life  en- 
ilured ;  a  compact  you  called  as  sacred  and  binding  aa 
marriage.  I  loathe  myself  when  I  think  of  my  fickleness 


206  JESSAMINE. 

and  falsehood.  I  do  not  deserve  to  receive  the  love  of  ar.y 
true  man.  There  is,  at  times,  a  bitter  tonic  in  the  idea  that 
I  may  be  better  worth  Roy  Fordham's  acceptance  than  I 
would  be  of  another's  who  had  never  deceived  the  trust 
of  the  woman  who  loved  him." 

She  sat  upright,  and  laughed,  in  saying  it.  "  We — he 
and  I — could  not  upbraid  one  another  on  the  score  of 
inconstancy." 

"  I  will  not  have  you  depreciate  yourself.  You  have 
been  true  to  the  letter  of  your  vow.  There  are  some 
feelings  that  defy  control.  Listen  to  me,  dearest,"  sit 
ting  down  by  her.  "  This  is  a  world  of  mismatched, 
plans, — of  blighted  hopes  and  fruitless  regrets.  But  the 
wise  do  not  defy  Fate.  They  look,  instead,  for  the  sparkle 
of  some  ffem  amid  the  ashes  of  desolation.  Let  us  be 

^j 

brave  since  we  cannot  be  hopeful.  I  can  never  forget 
yon, — never  cease  to  think  of  you  as  the  dearest  and  no 
blest  of  women.  The  memory  will  be  more  to  me  than 
any  possession  in  the  gift  of  Fortune.  No  change  of  ex 
ternal  circumstances  can  make  us  less  to  one  another  than 
we  are  now,  while  to  the  wDrld  we  can  never  be  more. 
Nothing  is  further  from  my  wishes  or  designs  than  to 
weaken  your  regard  for  the  strength  of  a  compact  so  sol 
emn  as  that  which  binds  you  to  your  betrothed.  He  is  a 
good  man,  and  he  will  cherish  you  kindly  and  faithfully. 
It  may  be  a  hard  saying,  but  we  are  dealing  in  no  mock 
reserves  now,  love ;  and  however  weakly  my  heart  may 
shrink  from  pronouncing  the  doom  of  my  happiness,  I  ought 
not  to  disguise  from  myself  or  you  the  truth,  that,  as  ha 
has  done  nothing  since  your  betrothal  to  forfeit  your  es 
teem,  you  should  fulfil  your  promise  whenever  he  shall 
claim  it." 


JESSAMINE.  207 

"  Which  he  may  never  do ! "  Jessie  interrupted  the 
forced  calmness  of  the  argument.  "  1  heard  a  terrible 
.story  a  month  ago — one  that  lias  driven  sleep  from  my 
eyes  for  whole  nights  since.  Did  you  ever  hear  that  my 
mother  was  insane  for  many  years  before  she  died  ? " 

It  was  too  dark  to  see  her  features,  but  Orrin  felt  the 
strong  shudder  that  ran  over  her ;  saw  the  gesture  that 
seemed  to  tear  the  dreadful  secret  from  her  breast. 

She  went  on  wildly.  "  That  the  loving  words  and 
caresses,  the  recollection  of  which  has  fed  my  heart  from 
my  babyhood,  the  tales  and  songs  and  sketches  that  were 
my  choicest  pleasures  then,  were  the  vagaries  of  an  un 
settled  mind ;  that  she  knew  nothing  aright  after  I,  mis 
erable  little  wretch !  was  born  !  Not  even  her  own  and 
only  child  !  That,  through  all  these  years  I  have  been  wor 
shipping  a  beautiful  myth  !  I  never  had  a  mother !  Oh ! 
that  I  had  died  while  I  still  believed  in  her !  " 

The  cry  of  the  last  sentence  was  of  hopeless  bereave 
ment,  and  the  specious  actor  beside  her  sat  appalled  at  the 
might  of  a  woe  beyond  his  conception. 

She  resumed  before  he  could  reply. 

"  I  ought  never  to  marry  !  Accursed  from  the  begin 
ning,  I  should  finish  my  shadowed  life  alone.  You  talk 
of  the  gifts  of  Fortune.  The  best  she  can  offer  me  now 
are  quiet  and  obscurity.  I  have  written  all  this  to  Mr. 
Fordham.  He  knows,  by  this  time,  that  I  am  a  less  de 
sirable  partner  for  his  fastidious  and  untainted  self  than 
was  the  poor  girl  whose  only  crime  was  that  her  sister 
had  died  of  consumption, — that  a  deadlier  malady  is  my 
birthright!  " 

"  Y"ou  have  written  this  to  Roy  ? "  exclaimed  Orrin,  in 


203  JESSAMINE. 

stern  earnest.     "  Without  consultation  with  your  sistei 
or  father?" 

"Why  should  I  consult  them?  Having  deceived  me 
for  twenty  years  or  more,  they  would  not  be  likely  tc» 
tell  me  the  truth  now.  The  story  came  indirectly  to  me 
from  the  daughter  of  my  mother's  nurse,  who  lived  here 
herself  as  a  servant  when  I  was  born.  Afterward  I  saw 
and  talked  with  the  woman  myself.  Nothing  but  the 
whole  truth  would  satisfy  me.  Her  account  was  clear 
and  circumstantial.  There  is  no  mistake." 

a  The  woman  is  a  lying  gossip — a  malicious  or  weak- 
minded  slanderer.  You  have  acted  hastily  and  most  un 
wisely  !  "  Orrin  said,  in  seriousness  that  commanded  her 
attention.  "  This  tale  is  not  a  new  one  to  me.  Your 
sister  informed  me  that  there  was  such  a  figment  in  cir 
culation  before  you  went  to  Mrs.  Baxter." 

lie  rehearsed  Eunice's  description  of  her  step-mother's 
invalidism,  softening  such  portions  of  it  as  might,  he 
feared,  tend  to  feed  the  daughter's  unhealthy  fancies. 

"  Your  father  and  your  family  physician  will  tell  you 
that  her  disease  was  physical.  Her  low,  nervous  state 
and  hysterical  symptoms  were  concomitants  to  this,  as 
were  her  indisposition  to  see  strangers,  and  inability  to 
go  abroad.  It  is  your  duty  to  write  this  explanation  to 
Roy.  He  had  your  father's  version  of  the  case,  when  he 
asked  his  sanction  to  his  addresses  to  yourself.  You 
must  tell  him  that  this  was  the  correct  one." 

"  To  what  purpose  would  all  this  be?  "  He  had  never 
heard  her  r.peak  sullenly  until  now.  "  Better  that  he 
should  part  from  me  on  this  pretext  than  upon  the  ground 
which  my  farther  confession  would  furnish." 

She   said  the  concluding   words   so   indistinctly  thai 


JESSAMINE.  209 

Orrin  did  not  catch  their  purport,  or  his  rejoinder  would 
have  heen  different  and  less  prompt. 

"  For  the  sake  of  your  mother's  memory  !  "  he  urged, 
gently.  "  The  mother  who,  you  are  again  persuaded, 
both  knew  and  loved  you." 

She  was  still  for  a  moment. 

"  You  are  right,"  she  said  then.  "  It  would  be  base  to 
screen  my  faithlessness  at  the  expense  of  her  reputa 
tion.  I  am  cowardly — but  indeed,  indeed,  it  is  not  an 
easy  task  to  undeceive  him.  He  trusts  me  implicitly  ! 
If  you  had  read  his  letters!  And  I  do  still  value  his 
esteem.  I  believed  in  him  so  long,  you  know.  But  I 
will  tell  him  all!  It  is  just  that  I  should  be  spared  no 
humiliation  !  " 

To  Wyllys  this  was  sheer  raving,  yet  it  sounded  dan 
gerous. 

"  What  do  you  mean  ? "  he  queried,  in  an  altered  tone. 

Instead  of  replying,  she  hid  her  face  in  her  hands 
-  -(how  well  he  remembered  the  old  action !) — and 
moaned. 

He  touched  her  shoulder,  less  in  caress  than  admoni 
tion,  as  he  asked,  "Tell  him  what?  Why  do  you  speak 
of  humiliation? " 

"  Because  he  still  believes  in  me,  I  tell  you  !  He  will 
Bcorn  me  when  I  confess  that  my  heart  has  changed — 
that  I  can  never  love  him  again,  as  I  fancied  I  did 
once  1 "  she  whispered,  as  if  ashamed  to  say  it  aloud. 
"  lie  will  cast  me  off — free  me  at  once  and  forever." 

The  temptation  was  powerful,  and  the  Thug  yielded  to 
it,  without  a  struggle. 

"And  if  he  should,  darling  ?     What  then?  "he  said 
tightening  his  arm  about  her  waist. 


210  JESSAMINE. 

"  You  should  not  ask  me  !  "  in  a  yet  lower  whisper. 

Had  the  dusk  allowed,  she  might  have  seen  a  smile  of 
triumph  upon  his  face  ;  an  involuntary  nprearing  of  the 
head  as  from  the  binding  of  the  bay  of  victory  about 
his  brows.  In  affections  and  in  spirit,  she  lay  at  his  feet 
— her  love  confessed,  her  destiny  in  his  power.  Did  ho 
wish,  for  one  insane  instant,  that  his  acting  were  reality, 
that,  with  clean  heart  and  hands,  he  could  fold  her  in  his 
embrace,  and  call  her  by  the  name  which  is  the  seal  and 
glory  of  loving  womanhood  ?  make  her  his  honored  and 
beloved  Wife? 

We  are  all  human,  and  there  may  have  gaped  in  that 
one  wild  second,  an  hitherto  unsuspected  joint  in  his  har 
ness  of  unscrupulous  egotism.  If  this  were  so,  he  con 
quered  the  weakness  before  he  again  spoke. 

"  Jessie,  this  is  sheer  madness  !  My  beautiful  angel 
why  have  you  made  me  love  you  only  that  both  oui 
hearts  should  be  broken  at  last?  Do  you  know  what 
you  are  doing  ?  Do  not  injure  yourself  fatally  in  the  es 
timation  of  all  your  friends  by  cancelling  this  engage 
ment.  Your  father  has  talked  much  to  me  of  the  com 
fort  it  is  to  him.  He  loves  and  honors  Fordham ;  is 
happy  in  his  old  age  in  the  anticipation  of  giving  you 
into  his  keeping.  This  will  be  a  crushing  blow  to  his 
pride  and  affection.  And  Fordham  !  you  do  not  com 
prehend  what  a  terrible  thing  his  anger  is.  I,  who  have 
seen  him  aroused,  warn  you  not  to  make  him  your  life 
long  enemy.  These  calm,  slow  natures  are  vindictive  be 
yond  the  possibility  of  your  conception." 

"  Yet  you  would  have  me  trust  myself  and  my  happi 
ness  in  his  keeping  ?  When  I  have  said  that  I  do  not 
love  him  !  Have  you  read  my  nature  to  so  little  purpose 


JESSAMINE.  211 

as  to  think  that  fear  will  drive,  where  affection  does  not 
lead  me?" 

Her  spirit  was  rising.  He  knew  the  signs  of  hei 
mood,  and  that  the  sharpest  of  the  struggle  between 
lier  will  and  his  was  to  come.  He  made  ready  his  last 
shaft. 

"  Leave  things  as  they  are  !  If  I  plead  earnestly,  it  ia 
because  there  is  so  much  at  stake.  For  me,  as  for  you ! 
Do  not  tempt  me  to  perjury  and  dishonor.  Help  me  to 
keep  my  integrity  by  holding  fast  to  your  own  !  Believe 
me,  who  have  seen  more  of  life  and  human  inconsistency 
than  your  virgin  fancy  ever  pictured,  when  I  say  that 
crossed  loves  are  the  rule,  love-marriages  the  exception  in 
this  crooked,  shadowed  world.  By  and  by,  you — both  of 
us— will  learn  quietness  of  soul,  if  not  content,  and  nobody 
surmise  the  secret  of  the  locked  heart-chambers  which 
arc  consecrated  to  one  another." 

"Perjury!  dishonor!"  repeated  Jessie,  bewildered. 
"  By  what  oath  are  you  bound  2  I  do  not  understand ! " 

"  You  have  heard  no  report,  then,  of  the  business 
which  brought  me  to  Dundee  ?  Has  not  Mrs.  Baxter  or 
Miss  Provost  written  to  you  of  my  engagement  '<  :: 

"  Engagement !  "  still  wonderingly. 

"  I  am  engaged  to  be  married,  Jessie ! "  mournfully 
firm. 

"  To  whom  ?  " 

He  just  caught  the  gasp,  for  her  throat  and  tongue 
were  too  dry  for  perfect  articulation. 

"  To  Hester  Sanford." 

Without  another  word,  she  got  up  and  groped  her  way 
to  the  mantel. 

Orrin  fallowed. 


212  JESSAMINE. 

"  What  is  it  ?  "  he  asked,  tenderly. 

"  I  want  the  mate-lies  !     Ah,  here  they  are  !  " 

She  struck  one,  the  blue  flame  showing  a  ghastly  face 
above  it,  lighted  the  lamp,  and  motioned  Orrin  to  a  seat 
opposite  her  own,  at  the  centre-table. 

"  Now !  "  she  said,  interlacing  her  fingers  upon  the 
table,  and  leaning  over  them  in  an  attitude  of  attention. 
"  Go  on  with  what  you  were  saying." 

If  she  had  expected  him  to  show  embarrassment,  she 
was  foiled.  He  put  his  hand  upon  hers  before  he  began, 
and  although  she  drew  it  back,  he  felt  that  it  was  clay-cold, 
and  judged  rightly  that  his  real  composure  would  outlast 
her  counterfeit. 

"  Yvliat  could  I  do  ? "  he  said,  beseechingly.  "  You 
were  lost  to  me  as  surely  as  though  you  were  already 
married  or  dead.  If  I  am  to  blame  for  obeying  the 
reckless  impulse  to  double-bar  the  door  separating  us — to 
divide  myself  from  you  by  a  gulf  so  wide  that  expec 
tancy,  desire,  and  hope  would  perish  in  attempting  to 
cross  it,  you  are  scarcely  the  one  to  upbraid  me  for  the 
deed.  More  marriages  are  contracted  in  desperation  than 
from  mutual  love.  I  said:  'If  I  am  ever  cured,  it  will 
be  by  this  means.'  Miss  Sanford  was  not  unpropitious 
to  my  advances.  I  will  not  insult  your  common-sense  by 
pretending  that  her  evident  partiality  flattered  or  attracted 
me — much  less  that  I  ever  felt  one  throb  of  tenderness 
for  her.  Since  I  could  never  love  another  woman,  what 
difference  did  it  make  who  bore  my  name  and  kept  my 
house  ?  It  were  better — so  I  reasoned — to  many  one 
whose  supreme  self-love  would  prevent  her  from  divining 
my  indifference  and  its  cause,  who  was  shallow-hearted, 
insensitive,  and  obtuse  of  wit,  than  one  who,  gauging  niv 


JESSAMINE.  213 

feelings  by  her  own,  would  expect  a  devotion  I  could  not 
feign — 

"  But  I  cannot  talk  of  Miss  Sanford  and  my  new  bonds, 
here,  and  now !  I  thought  myself  »armed  at  every  point 
for  self -justification  when  I  came  to  you.  One  ray  from 
your  eyes  showed  me  my  error." 

"  Perjury  !  dishonor!  "  reiterated  Jessie,  without  mov 
ing  the  eyes  that  were  fast  tilling  with  disdain.  "  It  is 
from  these  that  I  am  to  save  you  ?  You  perjured  your 
self  when  you  told  that  girl  that  you  loved  her — and  tell 
it  to  her  you  did,  or  she  would  not  have  accepted  your 
hand.  Other  men  have  sought  her  in  marriage,  and  she 
would  be  exacting  as  to  the  form  of  your  proposal.  You 
dishonored  yourself  and  the  name  of  wedded  love  in 
every  vow  you  made  her.  From  this  sin,  at  least,  I  am 
free.  When  I  promised  to  marry  Roy  Fordham,  I 
thought  I  understood  my  own  feelings.  And  my  heart 
was  his  !  If  I  could  forget  the  mad,  wicked  dream  that 
divides  me  from  that  season  of  purity  and  gladness,  I 
would  peril  my  soul  to  do  it !  You  speak  of  the  sanctity 
of  my  engagement ;  of  the  integrity  that  bids  you  hold 
Last  to  yours.  We  will  pass  over  the  first.  It  was  a 
-acred  thing,  and  a  precious,  once,  before  the  serpent  left 
liis  loathsome  trail  upon  it.  But  where  was  your  integ 
rity  when  you  talked  to  me  of  love,  just  now  ?  when  you 
deliberately  prefaced  the  announcement  of  your  betrothal 
by  the  declaration  that  the  memory  of  me  must  always  be 
more  to  you  than  any  earthly  possession  ?  Was  this  loyal  ? 
Was  it  honorable,  or  even  honest?  I  believe  that  1  have 
oved  you,  Orrin  Wyllys !  I  believe,  moreover,  that  you 
iave  tried  t )  win  my  love — for  what  end  the  Maker  of  us 
joth  alone  knows.  If  1  have  been  weak,  you  have  beec 


214  JESSAMINE. 

wicked.  I  see  it  all  now — step  by  step  !  fall  after  fall !  And 
to  crown  the  injury  you  have  done  me  with  insult,  YOU  ad 
jure  me  to  save  you  from  temptation  to  perjury  by  heap 
ing  lie  upon  lie,  in  continuing  to  assert  by  actions,  if  not 
by  direct  protestation,  that  I  love  a  man  to  whom  I  am 
indifferent.  You  have  sold  yourself  for  Hester  Sanford's 
millions.  You  would  have  me  sell  myself,  soul  and  body, 
for  expediency  and  convenience — and  to  avert  Roy  Ford- 
ham's  lasting  enmity.  That  is  the  case,  stripped  of  senti 
mental  verbiage." 

"  Jessie ! " 

"  I  have  no  affection  for  him,  or  for  any  one  else  !  No 
faith  !  no  hope  !  "  she  pursued,  towering  above  him  like 
a  lost  but  menacing  spirit.  "  You  saved  my  life  this 
morning.  You  make  of  that  benefit  a  wrong  to-night,  by 
robbing  life  of  all  that  it  held  of  sweetness  and  comfort ; 
by  showing  me  W7hat  a  coarse  bit  of  gilded  clay  I — poor 
fool !  have  worshipped.  I  wish  you  had  let  me  drown  !  " 

"  Jessie  !  are  you  mad  ? " 

He  had  arisen  with  her,  and  would  have  drawn  nearer 
to  her  side,  but  she  waved  him  off.  There  was  a  terrible 
beauty  in  her  wrath  that  fascinated  him,  in  spite  of  her 
cutting  words. 

"  I  was  a  happy,  trustful  child  when  you  crossed  my 
path.  1  am  a  hard,  bitter,  suspicious  woman — and  the 
change  is  your  work.  You  have  humbled  me  forever  in 
my  own  eyes,  by  letting  me  into  the  dark  secrets  of  rny 
instability  and  idiotic  credulity.  I  care  not  what  others 
think  of  me.  I  shall  write  to  Mr.  Fordham  before  I 
sleep,  and  release  him  ;  if  he  still  considers  himself  bound 
to  me,  shall  tell  him  plainly  that  my  love  is  dead — and ; 
my  heart ! " 


JESSAMINE.  215 

"  You  will  judge  me  more  mercifully,  and  yourself 
more  justly  one  day,  Jessie.  \our  self-reproaches  pain 
me  more  than  do  your  vituperations  against  myself. 
Nothing  you  can  say  in  your  present  mood  can  alter  my 
feelings  for  you.  You  have  had  much  to  try  you,  to-day, 
my  poor  child!  When  you  are  cooler,  you  will  retract — • 
mentally  at  least — the  charges  you  have  brought  against 
one  whose  heart  is  now — and  always  will  be — your  own. 
You  know  me  better  than  you  think.  I  can  wait  for 
time  and  your  sober  reason  to  right  me.  Implacable  as  I 
know  Fordham  to  be,  under  his  impassive  demeanor,  he 
will  be  more  lenient  to  what  he  will  esteem  my  breach  of 
trust — the  wrong  I  have  done  him — when  once  he  has 
heard  my  defence,  than  you  are  at  this  moment." 

"  You  suppose,  then,  that  I  am  going  to  lodge  a  com 
plaint  against  you  ? "  she  said,  contemptuously.  "  I  shall 
not  mention  your  name.  I  should  be  ashamed  to  own 
who  was  the  cause  of  my  folly.  You  have  nothing  to 
dread  from  your  cousin's  anger." 

And,  although  his  last  remark  was  a  "  feeler,"  designed 
to  elicit  such  an  assurance,  this  speech  stung  him  more 
sharply  than  had  the  volley  of  invectives  that  preceded 
it. 

Mr.  Kirke  and  Eunice  did  not  return  until  midnight. 
Jessie  had  the  evening  to  herself,  and  the  letter  to  Roy 
was  sent  to  the  post-office  before  she  went  to  bed. 

It  was  short  and  decisive  to  unkindness : 

"  When  t  wrote  to  you,  last  week,"  was  the  uncere 
monious  commencement, — '*'  I  said  that  I  would  await 
your  reply  before  sending  another  letter.  I  believed  that 
the  information  contained  in  the  former  would  be  the 
means  of  terminating  our  engagement,  I  have  learned 


216  JESSAMINE. 

since  that  the  story  was  a  malicious  or  idle  exaggeration 
My  mother  died,  as  she  had  lived,  a  sane  woman.  But 
this  matters  little  so  far  as  our  relation  to  one  another  is 
concerned.  Another,  and  an  insuperable  obstacle  to  our 
union,  exists  in  the  change  of  my  feelings  toward  your 
self.  If  I  ever  loved  you — I  think,  sometimes,  I  never 
did — I  love  you  no  longer.  Months  of  doubt  and  suffer 
ing  have  brought  me  to  the  determination  to  confess  this 
without  reserve.  I  offer  no  extenuation  of  my  fickleness. 
I  ought  to  have  remained  constant,  but  I  have  not.  May 
you  choose  more  happily  and  wisely  in  the  future  ! 

"  I  write  this  without  conference  with  my  father  or 
sister, — in  the  knowledge,  also,  that  my  change  of  purpose 
and  prospects  will  be  a  sorrow  and  a  surprise  to  both. 
But  I  cannot  hesitate  or  draw  back.  I  need  hardly  say 
that  I  have  entered  into  pledges  with  no  one  else.  No 
one  desires  that  I  should,  or  seeks  to  win  my  affections. 
It  rests  with  you  to  give  me  the  release  I  ask  of  your 
generosity  and  humanity,  or  to  hold  me  to  the  letter  of 
my  bond.  If,  having  learned  the  extent  of  the  change 
that  has  come  over  me  since  I  gave  it,  yon  insist  upon 
the  fulfilment  of  my  promise,  I  shall  submit  to  your  de 
cision. 

"  Foreseeing  what  your  action  will  be,  it  only  remains 
for  me  to  add  that  your  gifts  and  letters  await  your  order. 

"  JESSAMINE  KIRKE." 


CHAPTER  XV. 

HE  September  nights  were  cool  among  the  moun 
tains,  and  as  Mr.  Kirke   and  his  elder  daughter 

'  O 

drove  home  through  the  moonlight,  between  eleven 
,  and  twelve  o'clock,  from  the  visit  of  mercy  they 

had  been  paying  on  the  other  side  of  the  ridge, 
there  were  white  blankets  of  mist  upon  the  meadows,  and 
filling  up  the  valleys  along  which  their  route  lay. 

The  fire  was  out  in  the  kitchen,  and  Patsey  had  been 
asleep  for  two  hours  and  more,  having  made  up  her  mind 
that  her  master  would  not  return  until  the  morrow. 
There  was  still  a  light  in  Jessie's  chamber,  and  she  came 
down,  wide-awake  and  dressed,  to  admit  the  travellers. 
The  servant  man  slept  in  a  room  over  the  stable,  and, 
after  calling  to  him  two  or  three  times  without  arousing 
him,  the  worthy  clergyman  took  pity  upon  his  weariness 
after  his  hard  day's  work,  and  groomed  his  horse  himself. 
Eunice  exclaimed  at  the  dampness  of  his  overcoat  iu 
helping  him  remove  it,  and  Jessie — instructed  in  such 
10 


213  JESSAMINE. 

appliances   to   health   and    comfort   by   Lei'   wa:ery   ad 
venture,  the  telling  of  which  she  reserved  for  a  more 

'  O 

convenient  season — prescribed  a  glass  of  brandy-and-water. 
Mr.  Kirke  needed  notliing  except  a  night's  rest,  he  as 
sured  them  both ;  pinched  Jessie's  cheek,  in  kissing  her 
'•'good-night,"  and  rallied  her  upon  her  anti-temperance 
proclivities,  then  ascended  to  his  chamber.  lie  came 
down  late  to  breakfast,  the  next  morning ;  owned  that 
sleep  had  proved  obdurate  to  his  wooing;  that  he  had 
had  something  very  like  an  ague  during  the  night,  and 
that  it  was  a  violent  headache  which  deprived  him  of 
appetite. 

When  he  arose  from  table,  Jessie  coaxed  him,  almost 
in  the  old  winsome  way  he  could  never  resist,  into  the 
parlor;  made  him  lie  upon  the  sofa;  tucked  a  shawl 
warmly  about  his  shoulders,  and  sitting  down  of  her  own 
accord  to  the  piano,  played  plaintive,  soothing  airs  until 
he  fell  asleep. 

This  was  the  beginning  of  the  spell  of  fever  that, 
within  twelve  hours,  laid  him  upon  his  bed,  and  which, 
ten  days  later,  assumed  a  typhoid  form. 

His  daughters  were  his  nurses,  by  day  and  night 
Offers  of  watchers  poured  in  from  the  few  gentle  aiul 
the  many  simple  who  were  his  parishioners  and  neigh 
bors  ;  but  the  sisters  courteously  and  gratefully  declined 
them  all.  Their  patient  was  all-deserving  of  the  name, 
and  needed  no  other  care  than  they  could  give  him.  He 
slept  much,  and  suffered  little  pain,  and  their  light 
household  tasks  allowed  one  or  the  other  to  be  constantly 
with  him.  Thus,  to  the  kindly  applicants;  while  to  each 
other  and  their  parent  they  said  that  love  would  not 
allow  them  to  delegate  a  duty  so  dear  and  pious  even  to 


JESSAMINE.  219 

the  true  friends  who  sought  to  divide  their  Lahore.  No 
man  ever  had  more  tender  and  gentle  custodians.  There 
was  no  perceptible  difference  in  the  assiduity  and  skill 
of  the  two,  but  visitors  were  unanimous  in  the  expression 
of  the  opinion  that  their  anxious  vigils  told  more  visibly 
upon  Jessie  than  upon  her  sister.  She  wasted  almost  aa 
rapidly  as  the  sick  man,  while  her  eyes  were  settled  in 
their  mournful  ness,  and  she  seemed  to  forget  how  to 
smile  days  before  the  physician  expressed  any  doubt  as  to 
the  sequel  of  her  parent's  illness. 

lie  had  been  confined  to  his  room  three  weeks,  when, 
on  the  morning  of  the  27th  of  September.  Jessie  met  the 
doctor  on  the  stairs,  as  she  was  carrying  in  a  bowl  of 
beef  tea  she  had  just  made. 

"Ah,  doctor!  I  did  not  know  you  were  here!"  she 
said,  more  cheerfully  than  he  had  heard  her  speak  for 
several  days,  unless  when  within  her  father's  hearing. 
"  Pupa  is  more  comfortable — is  he  not  ? " 

"  lie  is  more  quiet,  certainly.  Can  I  see  you  for  a 
moment,  my  dear,  when  you  have  taken  that  in  ?  I  shall 
wait  for  you  in  the  parlor." 

lie  spoke  very  gravely,  averting  his  eyes  as  he  finished  ; 
and  hope  went  suddenly  and  completely  out  of  the 
daughter's  heart. 

She  bore  the  basin  carefully  and  steadily  into  the 
chamber,  up  to  the  bedside  of  the  patient,  and  called  his 
name  clearly : 

"  Papa,  dear,  will  you  take  a  little  of  this  for  me?  ? 

She  watched  him  narrowly  as  he  aroused  himself  to 
respond. 

"  lie  sleeps  all  the  time,  to-day,"  whispered  Eunice. 

There  was  a  dull  glow  in  his  half-open  eyes,  and  he 


220  JESSAMINE. 

put  his  hand  to  his  head,  confusedly,  staring  in  his 
younger  daughter's  face,  as  she  repeated  her  request. 

"It  is  Jessie,  papa!  You  have  been  dreaming,  and 
are  not  yet  awaL:e.  Here  is  your  beef  tea.  May  I  give 
you  a  spoonful  or  two  ?  " 

"  I  thought  you  were  your  mother,  child ! "  he  said, 
smiling  faintly  but  lovingly  at  her.  "  I  was  dreaming, 
as  yon  say." 

She  fed  him  as  she  would  an  infant,  but  he  would 
take  only  a  few  spoonfuls  of  the  nourishment,  turned 
his  face  away,  and  fell  asleep  again  instantly. 

The  doctor's  delicate  and  unenviable  duty  was  half 
done  for  him  before  she  joined  him  in  the  lower  room. 

"  You  consider  my  father  worse  ? "  was  the  address 
with  which  she  opened  the  interview. 

"  I  grieve  to  say  that  I  do." 

"  Can  nothing  be  done  for  him?  " 

lie  hesitated. 

"  I  am  answered  ! "  she  said,  hastily.  "  Don't  shelter 
yourself  behind  the  hateful,  worthless  subterfuge  about 
hope  ceasing  only  with  life.  Tell  me,  instead,  how 
long—" 

The  rest  of  the  sentence  was  beyond  her  powers  of 
utterance.  But  she  did  not  succumb  in  aspect,  after  the 
wordless  struggle  died  away  in  a  quiver  of  the  un- 
moistened  lips.  She  was  very  white,  but  very  still. 
The  doctor  congratulated  himself  upon  the  sagacity  that 
had  led  him  to  choose  this  one  of  the  twain  as  the  recipi 
ent  of  his  unwelcome  intelligence.  Jessie  was  his  fav 
orite,  and  he  had  always  contended  that  hers  was  the 
stronger,  as  well  as  the  more  sprightly  nature  of  the  two. 
Since  she  was  so  collected — so  well  prepared  for  the  sad 


JESSAMINE.  221 

probability — if  not  the  fell  certainty — he  could  be  en 
tirely  frank. 

"The  symptoms  are  of  general  congestion,"  he  said. 
"  If  this  should  advance  rapidly,  we  cannot  hope  to  have 
him  with  us  more  than  twenty-four  hours,  at  the  utmost. 
I  shall  return,  presently,  with  Dr.  Trimble.  But  his 
verdict  will,  I  think,  coincide  with  mine.  The  indica 
tions  are  distinct.  Your  father  will  probably  be  uncon 
scious  much  of  the  time,  and  suffer  little,  if  at  all.  No 
o'.ie  can  doubt  his  fitness  for  the  great  change.  I  have 
known  him  for  over  thirty  years,  and  I  can  testify  that 
"he  has  walked  humbly  and  closely  with  his  GOD.  He 
has  instructed  you  so  carefully,  Jessie,  my  dear,  that  you 
do  not  require  to  be  told  where  to  look  fof  consolation, 
for  grace,  and  strength,  in  this  trying  hour — 

A  motion  of  prohibition  that  had  in  it  none  of  the 
grace  of  entreaty,  checked  his  formula. 

"You  will  not  be  long  absent?"  asked  a  voice  from 
between  the  ligid  lips. 

The  circles  under  her  eyes  were  blacker  and  broader 
each  second. 

"  I  shall  be  in  again  as  soon  as  I  can  find  Dr.  Trimble. 
You  had  better  take  Miss  Eunice  into  your  confidence 
without  delay.  She  might  think  it  strange — might  take 
it  hard  if  anything  were  to  happen,  you  know — " 

"Yes!  I  know!" 

That  shut  his  mouth,  and  rid  her  of  his  presence. 

The  day  was  warm  for  the  season — so  sultry  that  the 
cirrus  clouds  swimming  in  the  blue  ether,  looked  soft  to 
April  tearfulness.  How  still  it  was,  as  Jessie  stood  in 
the  open  oriel- window,  and  let  her  eyes  roam  through 
garden  and  church-yard, — ever  returning,  without  voli- 


222  JESSAMINE. 

tion  of  hers,  to  the  gap  in  the  long  lines  of  gravestones 
next  her  mother's  tomb  !  Had  Nature  swooned  all  over 
the  broad  earth?  Was  there  nothing  real  left  in  creation 
save  the  fact  of  her  great  woe  ? 

"  My  father  is  dying  !  "  she  said,  aloud  and  distinctly. 

And,  again — "  I  suppose  this  is  what  people  mean 
when  they  talk  of  not  realizing  a  sorrow  !" 

As  if  aught  but  overwhelming  appreciation  of  the 
might  of  a  present  calamity  could  crush  the  heart  into 
deadness. 

She  was  picking  the  faded  leaves  from  the  creepers, 
and  crumbling  them  into  dust,  when  Eunice  came  in. 
Jessie's  protracted  absence  after  the  conference  with  the 
doctor  had  excited  her  apprehensions,  and  she  stole  down, 
while  her  father  slept,  to  inquire  into  the  cause.  Im 
measurably  relieved  at  sight  of  her  sister's  attitude  and 
occupation,  she  smiled  as  she  aroused  her  from  her  rev 
erie. 

"  I  could  not  think  what  had  become  of  you,  dear ! 
What  does  Dr.  Winters  think  of  father?  " 

"  Sit  down,  Eunice,  and  I  will  tell  you  !  "  said  Jessie, 
dreamy  pity  in  her  eyes,  but  no  change  in  her  hard,  hol 
low  voice. 

Eunice  sank  into  the  nearest  chair,  laying  her  hand 
quickly  upon  her  heart. 

"  You  cannot  mean — " 

"That  be  is  dying?  Yes!"  interrupted  the  other; 
and  in  the  same  awful  composure,  she  repeated  the 
doctor's  verdict,  verbatim. 

"  Now  " — she  concluded — u  I  will  go  back  to  him. 
You  may  come  presently,  when  you  have  had  time  to 
think  over  the  matter." 


JESSAMINE.  2123 

The  beryl  eyes  were  washed  with  many  tears  before 
they  again  met  Jessie's  across  the  sick-bed,  but,  after 
that,  Eunice  bore  herself  bravely.  Hour  after  hour,  they 
Bat  in  the  hushed  upper  chamber,  facing  their  Hearing 
desolation,  without  a  plaint  or  an  audible  sigh.  Below 
^tali's,  all  was  silent  as  the  grave.  Patsey,  with  an  in- 
'ieiiiiable  idea  that  the  house  should  be  set  in  order  for 
the  coining  of  the  grim  guest,  had  dusted  the  furniture, 
set  back  the  chairs  in  straight  rows  against  the  walls  in 
parlor  and  dining-room,  and  closed  all  the  blinds  on  the 
jower  floor;  made  her  kitchen  neat  as  Miss  Eunice 
could  have  wished ;  then  seated  herself  upon  the  upper 
step  of  the  side  porch,  her  arms  wrapped  in  her  clean 
apron.  Jessie's  orders  were  positive  that  no,  one  besides 
the  doctors  should  be  admitted,  and  as  the  servant's  look 
out  commanded  the  front  gate,  she  intercepted  the  many 
callers  who  flocked  to  the  Parsonage,  at  the  swift  rumor 
of  the  pastor's  extreme  illness. 

"  We  will  keep  him  to  ourselves  while  he  stays  with 
us ! "  the  younger  sister  had  answered  the  other's  fear 
lest  this  proceeding  should  give  offence  to  "  the  people." 
"  lie  has  belonged  to  them  for  thirty  years.  At  the  last, 
we  may  surely  claim  him  !  " 

"  But  they  love  him  dearly !  "  expostulated  Eunice. 
"  He  is  their  spiritual  father  and  guide." 

"  He  is  our  all!  "  was  the  curt  reply,  and  Eunice 
forbore  to  argue  further. 

In  the  midst  of  her  grief,  she  was  slightly  afraid  of 
Jessie.  The  wide  eyes  that  were  caverns  of  gloom  ;  the 
tuneless  accents  that  never  shook  or  varied,  cowed  lief 
into  quiet  and  obedience. 

There  was  little  to  be  done.     The  sick  man  slept — if 


•224  JESSAMINE. 

it  were  sleep — except  when  aroused  to  take  medicine  or 
food.  At  these  periods,  he  recognized  his  children,  and 
spoke  coherently,  although  briefly.  His  kind  heart  and 
gentle  breeding  were  with  him  to  the  end.  His  utter 
ances  were  of  thankfulness  for  the  services  they  rendered, 
and  love  for  those  who  bent  over  him,  that  not  a  word 
should  bo  lost  of  that  they  felt,  at  each  awakening,  might 
be  the  last  sentence  they  should  ever  hear  from  him. 

lie  spoke  once  intelligibly  and  calmly  of  the  nearing 
separation. 

"  I  am  going  fast !  "  he  said  to  Eunice,  who  was  lifting 
his  head  upon  her  arm  that  she  might  adjust  the  pillow. 
"  The  Father  is  very  good.  The  '  precious  blood '  avails 
— even  for  me — for  me  !  I  go  empty-handed,  but  rich 
— for  there  is  the  { unspeakable  gift ! ' '  Closing  his  eyes 
he  in  iir inured  softly  to  himself. 

Eunice  bowed  her  ear,  and  held  her  breath  to  catcli 
the  words. 

" '  The  token  was  an  arrow,  with  the  point  sharpened 
by  love,  let  easily  into  the  heart ! '  GOD  is  good — very 
good  ! " 

It  had  been  the  testimony  of  his  whole  life. 

"  Jessie,  dear !  my  little  girl !  you  are  wearing  your 
self  out  for  me ! "  he  said,  at  another  time.  "  I  wTish  Roy 
were  here !  But  His  will  be  done  !  HE  knows  my 
darling's  needs — her  temptations — her  trials.  Like  as 
a  Father  pitieth  his  children,  dear !  And  it  is  true ! 
Recollect  that  I  told  you  so,  this — and  when — and  how ! " 

She  was  to  recollect  it  in  the  Father's  good  time.  No\v 
the  words  meant  little,  after  she  had  heard  the  dying 
parent's  wish  for  Hoy's  return.  She  said  something  in 
her  own  heart  that  was  like  a  thanksgiving  that  her 


JESSAMINE.  225 

father  was  spared  the  one  pang  which  the  coming  of  the 
man  lie  would  have  her  marry,  would  bring, — that  tho 
sea  rolled  between  them. 

"  AVe  shall  be  cared  for,  Papa  !  "  she  replied,  quietly. 

"  I  know  !  The  promise  is  sure,"  and  he  slept  again, 
like  a  child  at  even-time  upon  the  mother's  breast. 

"  The  '  great  peace '  is  his  1 "  said  Eunice,  in  pious 
gratitude. 

Jessie  was  mute. 

So  the  afternoon  went  by,  and  the  shortening  twilight 
of  Autumn  drew  on  apace.  The  shutters  of  the  southern 
windows  were  unclosed  to  admit  the  air  which  evening 
had  iuji  made  raw.  The  fleecy  clouds  were  packed  in  a 
cumulose  mass  upon  the  horizon,  and  this  began  to  rise 
in  portentous  majesty,  as  the  sun  set  behind  it.  Dun, 
while  day  lasted,  with  ragged,  brassy  edges,  it  darkened 
and  thickened  as  Jessie  watched  it  from  her  seat  at  the 
bed-head,  into  a  banner  of  blackness  absorbing  the  light 
from  the  rest  of  the  heavens,  and  blotting  out  the  earth 
from  her  sight.  The  silence  was  breathless.  Not  an 
insect  chirped  or  -leaf  rustled.  Even  the  pine  boughs 
were  motionless.  The  mill  wheel  was  still  ;  the  roar  of 
the  waterfall  was  the  only  sound  abroad  under  the  inky 
sky.  The  sisters  could  no  longer  see  each  other,  but  all 
the  waning  light  in  the  room  seemed  concentred  upon 
the  pallid  face  between  them.  The  effect  of  the  pale 
radiance  and  the  brooding  quiet  about  them  was  weird 
—unearthly.  Eunice  could  bear  it  no  longer. 

"  I  will  bring  the  night-lamp  ! "  she  said,  rising. 

She  had  hardly  reached  the  foot  of  the  staircase,  when 
Jessie  liearl  the  garden-gate  shut,  and  steps  upon  the 
gravel-walk  leading  to  the  kitchen ;  next,  a  stifled 
10* 


226  JESSAMINE. 

scream  from  Patsey,  and  a  low,  manly  voice  in  rebuke 
or  reassurance.  Listening,  as  for  her  life,  the  deadly 
cold  of  hands  and  feet  creeping  up  to  her  heart,  she 
caught  a  faint  exclamation  from  Eunice ;  then,  the 
cautious  tread  of  feet  in  the  hall  to  the  parlor-door,  which 
was  shut  behind  those  who  went  in  ;  after  which  all  was 
quiet  again. 

For  one  moment,  the  darkness  was  Egyptian,  and  the 
night  more  freezing  than  winter.  The  watcher  struggled 
to  arise,  to  raise  her  hands  to  her  madly  throbbing  head, 
but  a  dull  paralysis  was  upon  her  limbs.  It  was  not  more 
than  three  minutes,  but  it  seemed  an  hour,  before  will 
asserted  its  sway  so  far  as  to  call  back  the  blood  in  a 
tingling  rush  to  the  heart  and  extremities.  Her  trial  was 
at  hand.  This — the  coup  de  grace  of  the  appointed  tor 
ture — was  not  to  be  spared  her,  and  she  awaited  it 
dumbly.  But  for  the  moveless  face  upon  the  pillow  be 
side  her,  she  must  have  rushed  away  to  hide  herself  in 
thicket  or  cave — perhaps  in  the  river-bed  from  which 
she  had  been  rescued  so' lately.  That  she  could  not 
leave.  Her  father  slept  on,  the  pale,  unearthly  glimmer 
ing  abiding  still  upon  the  broad  brow  and  noble  features, 
lie  was  beyond  the  reach  of  earthly  solicitude — the 
swimming  and  buffeting,  the  toil  and  anxiety,  were  for 
ever  overpast ;  his  feet  already  touched  the  solid  ground. 
He  was  very  far  off  from  her — bruised,  struggling,  con 
demned  to  endure  the  consequences  of  her  own  and 
another's  wrong-doing. 

A  weary  season  of  sickness  and  dread  elapsed  ere 
Eunice  entered  with  the  lamp.  She  put  it  down  upon  a 
stand  in  a  distant  corner,  came  around  to  Jessie's  side,  and 
Btooped  to  listen  to  her  father's  breathing  before  she  spoke 


JESSAMINE.  227 

Her  voice  was  husky  and  uneven,  and  there  was  the 
shine  of  fresh  tears  upon  her  cheeks. 

"  There  is  some  one  down  stairs  who  wishes  to  see  you, 
dear,"  she  said,  laying  her  hand  upon  her  sister's,  to  sup 
port  her  in  case  she  should  be  overcome  by  the  great  joy 
in  store  for  her.  "  Some  one  you  will  be  glad  and  thank 
ful  to  meet  again  !  " 

"  Is  it  Roy  Fordham  ? "  asked  the  hard  voice,  while 
Jessie  did  not  start  or  stir. 

Eunice  saw  that  her  prefatory  measures  were  thrown 
away. 

"  It  is !  lie  sailed  a  fortnight  earlier  than  he  expected  ; 
arrived  in  America  but  yesterday.  Dear  sister!  our 
Heavenly  Father  has  sent  him  to  us  in  our  sorest  need. 
He  is  waiting,  love ! " 

"  Then  let  him  come  up.    I  shall  not  leave  this  room." 


CHAPTER    XYI. 

object  in  the  dimly  lighted  chamber  seemed, 
to  Jessie's  strained  eyes,  to  stand  out  with  painful 
distinctness,  as  her  long-absent  lover  entered. 
Most  clearly  of  all,  she  saw  his  familiar  figure ; 
noticed  even  the  full  beard  and  gray  travelling- 
Buit,  while  he  crossed  the  floor  toward  her.  She  arose, 
mechanically,  and  went  forward  a  step  to  meet  his  fleet, 
noiseless  advance. 

"  My  own  one  !  my  precious  darling !  " 
He  had  her  in  his  arms  before  she  could  resist,  if  she 
had  meant  to  do  so.     There  were  tears  in  his  eyes  and 
voice  as  he  kissed  her,  and  he  held  her  closely,  warmly, 
as  a  mother  would  a  suffering  child. 

She  undid  his  embrace  with  fingers  strong  and  chill  as 
Bteel. 

"  My  father  is  very  ill ! "  she  faltered,  and  retreated  to 
his  pillow. 

Disturbed  by  the  movement  and  sound  of  his  name, 


JESSAMINE.  2£9 

Mr.  Ivirke  awoke.  The  recess  in  which  his  bed  stood 
was  in  partial  shadow,  but  his  gaze  rested  at  oiice  upon 
Roy,  and  he  tried  to  lift  his  Lead. 

"  Is  that  the  doctor  ? " 

Jessie  replied : 

"  No,  Papa !     It  is  Mr.  Fordham." 

Instead  of  welcoming  him,  the  sick  man  looked  heav 
enward,  and  his  lips  moved  in  prayer.  Only  the  daugh 
ter  who  had  crept  nearest  to  him,  interpreted  the  burden 
of  !iis  thanksgiving. 

"  LORD  !  now  lettest  Tnou  THY  servant  depart  in 
peaco ! " 

When  he  moved,  it  was  in  an  effort  to  hold  out  his  arms 
to  the  returned  vovager. 

d         O 

"  Roy  !  dear,  dear  son  !  " 

Roy  took  the  emaciated  hands  in  his,  vith  one  answer 
ing  word. 

"  Father ! " 

"Leave  us  for  a  little  while,  my  children!"  said  the 
dying  voice.  "  We  have  much  to  say  to  one  another,  and 
the  time  is  short !  " 

lie  was  obeyed ;  Eunice  going  to  her  room,  to  weep 
and  pray  in  mingled  gratitude  and  sorrow;  Jessie  fly 
ing  down  the  stairs  into  the  hall,  thence  out  into  the  gar 
den. 

The  sky  was  one  expanse  of  cloud  by  this  time.  The 
wind  moaned  fitfully  in  the  tree-tops;  brought  down 
showers  of  dr}7  leaves  into  her  face  and  upon  her  un 
covered  head.  They  whispered  drearily  to  her  as  they 
hurtled  by  and  crackled  under  her  feet,  and  each  thicket 
had  its  sigh  of  desolation.  She  heard  and  felt  all — her 
soul  in  unison  with  the  night  and  its  voices  of  woe.  She 


230  JESSAMINE. 

had  fled  from  her  father's  presence,  feeling  like  one 
accursed,  forsaken  by  GOD  and  man.  The  return  for 
which  the  dying  saint's  praise  had  gone  up  to  heaven, 
was  the  event  she  had  anticipated  with  shame  and  terror 
that  made  her  long  to  bury  herself  in  the  wilderness 
or  the  grave,  to  escape  the  sight  of  him  whom  she  had 
deceived.  To  him,  her  father  was  now  bequeathing  her 
— his  dearest  earthly  treasure.  Would  Roy  let  him, 
indeed,  depart  in  peace,  or  would  his  stern  sense  of 
truthfulness  and  honor  impel  him  to  a  revelation  of  her 
peifidy  ?  True,  he  had  taken  her  in  his  arms  and  kissed 
her,  but  she  had  received  this  as  his  farewell,  not  his 
salutation; — seen  in  it  the  resistless  overflow  of  the  old- 
time  fondness  at  sight  of  her  and  her  affliction.  Better 
— a  thousand  times  better — that  he  had  not  come  until 
the  eyes  that  had  lighted  into  gladness  at  sight  of  him 
were  sealed  in  death,  than  to  plant  thorns  in  the  painless 
pillow  of  the  death-bed  by  relating  how  she  had  betrayed 
the  trust  of  her  betrothed,  and  disappointed  her  father's 
hopes. 

If  she  could  have  warned  him !  If  she  had  had  the 
presence  of  mind  to  make  some  sign  of  caution  before 
she  left  them  together  ! 

"Would  Roy — "  the  man  of  granite  " — have  mercy  ?  or 
must  her  father's  last  words  to  her  be  reproof  and  not 
blessing?  regret  and  not  thankfulness? 

Up  and  down  !  up  and  down !  she  trod  the  long  alley, 
looking  at  the  faintly  illuminated  windows  of  that  upper 
chamber;  wringing  her  hands  in  her  dry-eyed  agony, 
longing  yet  fearing  to  hear  the  summons  that  should  end 
her  suspense. 

It  came  at  length !     Roy's  step  upon  the  piazza,  and 


JESSAMINE.  231 

his  call,  guarded  that  it  should  not  reach  the  sick-room, 
but  audible  to  her  as  would  be  the  trump  of  doom. 

"  Jessie  !  where  are  you  ?  " 

She  went  toward  him  without  hesitation.  Women 
have  gone  to  the  hall  of  sentence  and  to  the  block  in 
the  same  way.  lie  met  her,  guided  by  her  rustling  tread 
among  the  leaves. 

"This  should  not  be!"  he  said.  "You  will  be  ill 
next ! " 

lie  led  her  into  the  house,  and  to  the  parlor  where 
there  Avere  lights. 

She  was  not  surprised  that  he  did  not  let  her  pause 
until  they  reached  the  deep  window — where  she  had  not 
sat,  for  months,  until  that  morning  after  the  doctor  left 
her.  She  had  not  expected  a  violent  outbreak  of  anger 
or  recrimination;  had  felt  that,  even  in  becoming  her 
accuser,  he  could  not  cease  to  be  a  gentleman. 

Orrin  had  told  her,  more  than  once  or  thrice,  that  his 
kinsman  was  just  to  calm  severity.  lie  would  grant  her 
a  chance  of  self-exculpation  ;  would  judge  her  out  of  her 
own  mouth ;  make  her  rehearse  to  him  the  story  of  her 
falsehood  upon  the  spot  where  she  had  plighted  her  vow 
of  eternal  constancy.  And  she  would  meet  it  all — say 
it  all,  save  the  name  of  her  tempter— that  she  was 
pledged  not  to  reveal — if  he  would  but  let  her  go  back 
the  sooner  to  her  father — the  father  who  was  dying  up 
stairs  ! 

"Don't  think  me  cruel,  dear,  or  ungenerous,"  began 
Roy,  wrhen  he  had  seated  her,  and  himself  at  her  side. 

Had  her  wretchedness  moved  him  to  leniency  ? 

lie  continued  :  "  But  this  is  no  season  for  useless  de 
lays  and  mistaken  reserve.  Our  dear  father  is  passing 


232  JESSAMINE. 

away  from  us.  I  met  the  doctor  on  my  way  to  you  tliia 
evening.  lie  thinks  that  he  may  leave  us  very,  very  soon 
One  moment,  dearest,  and  you  shall  go  to  him  " — for  she 
had  started  up.  "  He  has  made  a  dying  request  of  us — 
of  you  and  me — the  fulfilment  of  which  depends  upon 
you.  1  say  nothing  of  the  eager  happiness  with  which  I 
have  given  iny  consent  to  the  proposal — only  of  the  com 
fort  you  can  shed  upon  his  last  moments  by  marrying  me 
in  his  si'o-ht  within  the  next  hour." 

Cj 

"  No  !  no !  no  !  "  She  slid  from  her  seat  to  her  knees, 
and  hid  her  face,  crouching  to  the  floor  in  horror  and 
humiliation.  "  I  cannot !  It  \vould  be  a  sin  !  a  fearful 
sin!" 

Roy  would  have  raised  her,  but  she  shrank  away  from 
him. 

"  Anything  but  that !  Ask  me  anything  but  that !  " 
she  repeated. 

"  It  is  not  I  who  ask  it,  dear.  Our  father  has  decided 
what  shall  be  the  time  and  place  of  our  marriage.  It  is 
not  selfish — much  less  is  it  sinful  in  us  to  yield  to  his 
wish — his  last  earthly  desire.  It  has  been  his  prayer 
from  the  commencement  of  his  illness  that  he  might  live 
to  join  our  hands  ;  give  you  into  my  keeping  before  you 
should  close  his  eyes.  Surely,  knowing  this,  we  may  not 
fear  to  repeat  in  his  hearing  the  vows  we  made  long  ago 
in  this,  our  betrothal  nook." 

The  simple,  sad  sincerity  of  his  appeal  sounded  like 
pitiless  will  in  the  ears  of  the  distracted  girl,  but  she  could 
not  gainsay  his  reasoning.  The  decision  was  then  thrown 
upon  her !  Hers  was  the  power  to  cast  a  ray  of  light 
upon  the  even-time  of  the  life  which  had  been  to  her  a 
constant  benefaction,  or  to  cloud  it  with  disappointment 


JESSAMINE.  233 

"It  is  not  selfish  in  us  to  yield  to  his  wish  !  " 

The  words  stung  like  venomed  sarcasm.  Not  selfish  tc 
accept  the  fate  against  which  her  nature — physical  and 
spiritual — had  lashed  itself  into  revolt  for  weary  months 
past !  Not  selfish  to  bind  upon  her  neck  the  yoke  of  the 
scorned  and  unloving  wife  ! 

The  last  thought  moved  her  to  action.  She  dragged 
herself  to  her  feet,  still  rejecting  his  aid,  and,  for  the  first 
time  since  their  meeting,  looked  into  his  face. 

"  Did  you  get  my  last  letter  ?  that  in  which  I  asked 
you  to  release  me  from  this  engagement  ?  " 

"  Yes." 

lie  would  have  drawn  nearer  as  he  said  it,  but  she  kept 
him  off — less  by  her  gesture  than  with  her  eyes — so  un 
like  the  sweet  wells  at  which  he  used  to  drink  his  fill  of 
love  ! 

"  And  knowing  all,  it  is  still  your  wish  to  marry  me ! 
Tli ink  well  before  you  answer.  This  bond  is  for  life,  re 
member  !  and  life  is  long !  Oh,  how  long  to  the  misera 
ble  !  " 

"  This  is  my  answer."  Before  she  could  avoid  him,  he 
had  gathered  her  in  his  arms,  had  pressed  the  reluctant 
head  to  his  bosom.  "We  have  been  wedded  almost  a 
year  and  a  half  already,  my  Jessie.  I  am  claiming  my 
wife,  not  my  betrothed.  Did  you  imagine  that  I  could 
be  frightened  from  my  hope  and  my  purpose  by  that 
morbid  little  note,  written  by  a  half-sick,  over-sensitive 
woman  \  Recollect !  you  left  the  decision  to  me  !  If, 
instead  of  this,  you  had  ordered  me  to  stay  away  forever, 
1  should  have  come  to  you  all  the  same  ;  have  taken  you 
to  the  old  resting-place  and  kissed  away  the  gloomy  fan 
cies  that  had  tempted  you  to  banish  me.  I  know  your 


234  JESSAMINE. 

heart  better  than  yon  do  yourself — and  it  is  mine  !  The 
LORD  do  so  to  mo,  and  more  also,  if  anght  but  death  part 
you  and  me ! 

"  Now,  beloved,  what  shall  I  say  to  our  father  ?  The 
minutes  are  precious." 

"  It  shall  be  as  you  and  he  desire.  I  will  tell  him  this 
myself,"  replied  Jessie,  calming  all  at  once  into  mourn 
ful  composure  Roy  deemed  altogether  natural  in  the  cir 
cumstances. 

"  One  word  more  !  "  detaining  her.     "  I  met  Dr.  Bax 
ter  this  evening  at  the  station,  on  his  way  to  pay  you  a 
visit,  promised,  he  said,  ever  since  last  winter.     Stopping  ; 
at  the  hotel  while  the  stage  set  down  other  passengers,  we 
heard  of  your  father's  illness,  and  our  dear  old  friend, 
with  characteristic  delicacy,  would  not  present  himself— 
a  stranger — to  your  sister,  in  the  circumstances.     He  re-  : 
mained  at  the  hotel  until  I  should  bring  further  intelli-  j 
gence.     Am  I  right  in  supposing  that  it  is  your  wish,  as  j 
well  as  mine,  that  he  should  perform  the  ceremony  which 
is  to  make  us  one  in  name,  as  we  have  long  been  one  in  ] 
heart  ?     If  so,  I  will  go  for  him  without  delay." 

"  Do  what  you  like — whatever  is  best,"  she  answered, 
hurriedly.  "  By  all  means,  bring  Dr.  Baxter  here  !  My 
father  will  like  to  see  him." 

"  His  arrival  just  now  is  providential,"  said  Roy,  walk 
ing  upstairs  at  her  side,  his  arm  still  supporting  her. 
"  There  is  light,  even  from  the  earthward  side,  upon  this 
dark  river,  love  !  " 

lie  beckoned  Eunice  from  the  sick-room  as  Jessie  went  | 
in,  exchanged  half-a-dozen  sentences  with   her   relative 
to  his  plans,  and  ran  down  the  steps  lightly  and  swiftly. 
lie  had  ordered  Mr.  Kirke's  horse  to  be  harnessed  to  his  \ 


JESSAMINE.  235 

buggy  before  he  sought  Jessie,  and  Eunice  heard  him 
drive  off  in  the  direction  of  the  village  by  the  time  she 
returned  to  her  post. 

The  sisters  awaited  him  and  the  clergyman  where  they 
had  sat  all  day,  the  one  at  the  right  hand,  the  other  at  the 
left  hand,  of  their  father.  Eunice  ventured  to  suggest  to 
her  companion  the  expediency  of  making  some  change  in 
her  dress  before  the  ceremony. 

"  I  thought  perhaps  yon  would  like  to  be  married  in 
white,"  she  said,  timidly.  "  I  am  almost  sure  Hoy  would 
prefer  this." 

"  I  have  not  time  to  dress.  I  have  left  him  too  long 
already,"  returned  Jessie,  pointing  to  her  father. 

She  tried  to  keep  her  promise  of  apprising  him  of  her 
acquiescence  in  his  will,  but  was  partly  baffled  by  his  in 
creasing  drowsiness.  He  spoke,  it  is  true,  when  she  told 
him  that  she  had  heard  from  Mr.  Fordham  of  his  request, 
and  determined  to  grant  it,  but  it  was  not  clear  that  he 
quite  understood  her. 

"  Good  child  ! "  he  said,  with  closed  eyes.  "  GOD  bless 
you  both ! " 

Did  "  both  "  mean  his  daughters  or  the  two  who  were 
to  be  wedded  presently  ?  She  could  not  bring  herself  to 
ask. 

Mr.  Kirke  lapsed  into  slumber  or  stupor,  and  the  room 
was  silent  again  save  for  his  irregular  breathing,  showing 
that  his  semi-insensibility  varied  in  character  from  that 
of  the  day.  Once,  Jessie  got  up  with  the  remark  that  it 
was  time  to  renew  the  mustard-poultices  that  stimulated 
the  curdling  veins  into  action,  and  the  pair  did  the  office 
deftly  and  mutely.  Eunice  saw  her  sister,  as  she  reseated 
herself,  lay  her  cheek  to  the  almost  pulseless  hand  that 


23G  JESSAMINE. 

rested  on  the  coverlet,  and  close  her  eyes,  while  her  lipk«i 
were  stirred  by  an  inaudible  sentence.  The  observer  was 
thankful  for  this  token  of  a  more  subdued  and  natural 
frame  of  mind  than  the  suffering  girl  had  yet  exhibited. 
1 1  was  meet  that  she  should  seek  the  blessing  of  Heaven 
upon  the  union  she  was  about  to  form,  and  that  thoughts 
of  prayer  should  be  linked  with  loving  ones  of  her  earthly 
parent.  And  Eunice,  too,  prayed  in  her  gentle,  pious 
heart  for  the  happiness  of  the  child  she  had  reared  as  her 
own.  and  for  that  of  the  true,  fond  brother,  whose  arrival 
in  this  their  darkest  hour,  was  like  a  direct  answer  from 
on  high  to  the  petitions  she  had  offered,  during  their  long 
clays  of  watching  and  anxiety.  With  Roy  to  console  and 
care  for  Jessie,  the  smitten  household  would  be  rich  even 
in  temporal  comfort. 

Was  Jessie  praying?  She  had  proudly  flung  the 
charge  of  perjury  at  another,  saying — "Of  this  sin,  at 
least,  I  am  innocent."  What  was  the  act  to  which  she 
had  given  her  consent — which  the  next  hour  would  render 
irrevocable?  It  was  when  this  question  was  forced  upon 
her  by  some  taunting  demon,  that  she  kissed  the  lifeless 
hand,  and  whispered  the  formula  she  had  said  aloud  that 
morning  at  the  open  window,  and  repeated  inly  hundreds 
of  times  since. 

"  My  father  is  dying  !  " 

Since  she  could  not  lie  down  and  die  in  his  stead,  she 
would  sacrifice  the  poor  hopes  of  peace  that  were  spared 
to  her  from  the  wreck  of  her  early  dreams,  to  purchase 
for  him  what  gratification  she  could  still  give  him. 
Eunice  might  well  eye  her  apprehensively,  all  that  day 
and  evening.  Many  with  steadier  brains  and  cooler  blood 
than  were  hers  have  been  consigned  to  insane  asylums. 


JESSAMINE.  237 

The  wind  was  so  loud,  the  roar  of  th.3  pine  outside  the 
window  so  continuous,  as  to  drown  the  sound  of  returning 
hoofs  and  wheels.  They  were  ignorant  of  Roy's  second 
arrival  until  he  knocked  at  the  chamber-door.  Eunice 
said,  "  Come  in  ! "  and  he  whispered  a  few  words  to  her 
before  he  approached  Jessie. 

"  Are  you  quite  ready  ? "  he  asked,  softly. 

She  bowed  her  head  in  assent. 

lie  disappeared  for  a  moment,  then  came  back  with 
Dr.  Baxter,  Drs.  Yv^inters  and  Trimble.  The  physicians, 
with  difficulty,  aroused  their  patient  so  far  as  to  swallow 
the  stimulant  they  administered.  Patsey  brought  in 
more  lights,  and  retired,  with  the  doctors,  to  the  back 
ground — an  interested  spectator  of  the  singular  scene. 

"  Father  !  "  it  was  Roy's  voice,  sonorous  yet  pleasant, 
that  reached  the  senses  and  reason  which  were  fast  slip 
ping  away  with  life.  '•  This  is  Dr.  Baxter,  of  whom  you 
have  often  heard — Jessie's  very  dear  friend — and  whose 
wife  is  the  cousin  of  Jessie's  mother." 

The  double  reference  was  talismanic.  Mr.  Kirke 
opened  his  eyes  to  their  full  width — all  recognizing  in 
them  the  glassy  stare  of  dissolution — and  tried  to  move 
his  hand  toward  the  person  thus  introduced. 

"  lie  is  very  welcome  !  " 

Dr.  Baxter  pressed  the  cold  hand  between  his. 

"  Brother  in  Christ !  we  should  have  met  before.  We 
shall  meet  again.  In  that  safe  world  there  are  no  crossed 
purposes  or  partings.  There  we  shall  know  even  as  we 
are  known — of  one  another  and  of  the  Master.  You  are 
very  near  the  entrance  upon  that  perfect  life.  I  have 
been  sent  hither  by  our  LOKD  to  bid  you,  '  GOD  speed ! ' 
on  the  short  and  easy  journey,  and  to  ask  your  blessing 


238  JESSAMINE. 

upon  these,  our  children,  who  would  walk  alter  yon,  hand 
in  hand.  Is  it  still  your  wish  that  they  should  be  mar 
ried  here  beside  you,  before  you  go  from  their  sight  ?  " 

"  Yes ;  by  all  means !  " 

The  emphasis  was  faint,  yet  perceptible,  and  he  shut 
his  clammy  lingers  feebly  upon  those  Jessie  slipped  within 
them,  as  she  obeyed  Dr.  Baxter's  injunction  to  join  her 
right  hand  with  that  of  her  betrothed.  She  felt  their 
loose  hold  more  plainly  than  she  did  the  warm,  strong 
grasp  that  signified  loving  protection,  tenderest  sympathy. 

It  was  a  strange,  sad  rite, — stranger  and  more  mel 
ancholy  than  burials  usually  are.  The  bride's  gaze 
never  left  the  sunken  face  and  closed  eyes  that  rested 
among  the  pillows,  and  her  assent  to  the  interrogations 
put  to  her  was  so  slight  as  to  create  a  passing  doubt  in  the 
mind  of  the  catechist  as  to  whether  she  had  given  any. 
The  mountain  storm  burst  overhead  in  thunder,  wind, 
and  rain,  as  the  bridegroom  spoke  his  reverent  and  stead 
fast  response,  and  when  the  benediction  was  pronounced, 
Jessie  stooped  to  kiss  her  father,  apparently  forgetful  that 
Roy's  was  the  paramount  right  to  the  token  of  affection. 

"  Dear  Papa !  It  is  your  little  Jessie  !  I  have  done  as 
you  wished.  Will  you  not  bless  me  ?  " 

The  cry  sounded  in  the  ear  deadened  by  the  death- 
stupor  as  a  faint  and  far-off  call.  Mr.  Kirke's  eyelids 
quivered  without  rising,  and  the  muscles  of  the  mouth 
were  moved.  Then,  the  gray  calm  settled  down  again 
upon  his  countenance. 

"  He  must  speak  to  me  !  I  must  be  sure  that  he  hears 
me — that  he  understands  how  I  have  obeyed  him !  "  said 
Jessie,  frantically.  "lie  must!  "  to  the  physicians  who 
advanced  to  the  bedside  with  restoratives. 


JESSAMINE.  939 

They  were  useless.  The  dying  man  \\  us  beyond  the 
reach  of  human  skill.  The  lips  were  parted,  the  throat 
did  not  contract.  Dr.  Winters  shook  his  head  despair 
ingly  and  turned  from  his  old  friend  and  pastor,  the  nn- 
tasted  glass  of  brandy  in  his  hand. 

"lie  does  not  see  or  hear  me!  "cried  the  daughter, 
throwing  np  her  arms  in  a  passion  of  despair.  "  I  did  it 
for  him,  and  he  will  never  know  it." 

She  sank  to  her  knees  beside  the  bed  and  buried  her 
face  in  the  coverings.  Roy  leaned  over  her,  and  whis 
pered  something  the  rest  did  not  hear.  lie  might  as  well 
have  addressed  her  father  with  words  of  consolation. 
When  he  touched  her  to  recall  her  attention,  she  shivered 
violently,  but  gave  no  other  sign  of  consciousness  of  his 
presence. 

"  I  am  glad  you  are  here,  Mr.  Fordham — heartily  re 
joiced  and  greatly  relieved,"  said  Dr.  Winters,  as  Roy  at 
tended  him  down  the  stairs.  "  Your  wife  needs  very  deli 
cate  and  judicious  treatment  just  now.  Her  whole 
nervous  system  is  unstrung.  I  saw  it  in  her  manner  and 
eye  this  forenoon.  When  the  unnatural  strain  is  relaxed, 
si ie  will  break  down  completely,  I  am  afraid." 

Mr.  Kirke  died  at  midnight.  lie  had  noticed  no  one, 
and  said  nothing  since  his  feeble  rejoinder  to  Dr.  Baxter's 
query  whether  the  marriage  should  proceed,  until  half  an 
hour  before  he  breathed  his  last,  those  about  him  saw  a 
change  in  the  face  that,  in  stillness  and  beauty,  resembled 
a  line  Greek  mask.  Jessie  perceived  itlirst;  was  quick 
to  take  advantage  of  the  tinge  of  color,  the  tremor  of 
features. 

"  Papa !  "  she  prayed,  raising  his  head  to  a  resting-place 
on  her  arm.  "  Can  you  hear  me  ?  If  you  can,  kiss  me.'' 


240 


JESSAMINE. 


The  stiff  lips  moved  under  the  pressure  of  hers,  and  a 
smile,  ineffable  in  radiance  and  tenderness,  remained  when 
the  kiss  had  been  given. 

"  Yon  do  know  me— do  you  not  ?  "  said  his  daughter, 
breathlessl  v.  "  Who  is  it  that  is  speaking  to  you  ?  " 

All  present  heard  the  reply : 

"  Ginevra  !  " 


CUM  TER  XVII. 

HE  "  breaking  down  "  predicted  by  Dr.  Winters, 
took  the  form,  not  of  hysterical  emotion,  as  he  had 
anticipated,  but  of  physical  languor  and  spiritual 
apathy,  which  were  more  alarming.  Jessie  moved, 
spoke,  and  thought  like  one  in  a  trance ;  acquies 
cing  in  every  proposal  made  by  her  sister  and  Roy ; 
>bcyin'-4  every  request  without  demur  or  inquiry.  If  left 
o  herself  she  asked  nothing  except  to  be  allowed  to  sit 
>r  lie  passive  for  hours  together  ;  her  great  eyes  closed  or 
•lank  ;  her  countenance  set  in  the  gloomy  weariness  that 
iad  marked  it  from  the  moment  her  hand  left  her  dead 
ather's  forehead — a  look  that  said  she  had  henceforward 
lothing  to  hope  for  or  to  fear. 

Few  husbands  would  have  had  tolerance  with  this  ex 
cessive  grief  for  the  loss  of  a  parent,  however  beloved, 
ind  worthy  of  filial  attachment.  One  might  search  far 
md  long  without  finding  a  man  whose  sympathy  with  the 
l«?mcnstratioii  of  this  would  incite  him  to  warmer  love 


242  JESSAMINE. 

and  fonder  care  for  her,  who,  for  the  time,  overlooked  his 
claim  to  supreme  regard  in  her  devotion  to  a  memory. 

"  You  could  not  mourn  more  bitterly  for  me!  "  I  once 
heard  a  man  say  in  impatient  reproach,  upon  surprising 
his  wife  in  tears  within  a  week  after  she  had  committed 
an  indulgent  parent  to  the  grave. 

Ho  was  a  good  man,  and  an  affectionate  husband,  but  ho 
could  not  endure  the  semblance  of  a  divided  allegiance. 

Had  Roy  Fordham's  love  been  of  this  sensitive  and 
exclusive  type,  it  would  have  boon  chafed  threadbare  be 
fore  the  honeymoon  was  one-tenth  wasted.  The  new  bond 
between  them  she  ignored  entirely — not,  it  was  evident,  in 
wilfulness  or  shyness,  but  because  it  had  no  place  in  her 
thoughts  ;  was  a  matter  of  no  moment  in  comparison 
with  the  event  that  steeped  her  whole  being  in  despon 
dency.  It  was  well  that  neither  he  n<  r  Eunice  had  any 
knowledge  of  the  continuous  warfare  of  the  summer,  the 
fiercer  struggle  of  that  early  September  day,  the  morrow 
of  which  had  brought  a  fresh  sorrow  in  her  father's  ill 
ness.  Had  they  comprehended  all  this,  superadded  to 
their  fears  that  her  three  weeks'  watching  and  its  findl& 
had  seriously  affected  her  nervous  system,  they  would  have 
had  small  hope  of  the  curative  power  of  Nature  and  of 
Love.  She  was,  in  reality,  insane  for  the  three  days  im-' 
mediately  succeeding  her  marriage,  if  lack  of  feeling, 
thought,  and  connected  memory  signify  mental  aberra 
tion.  In  after  years,  this  period  was  almost  a  blank  in 
the  retrospect,  a  confusing  dissolving  view  that  defied  her 
scrutiny.  While  it  lasted  it  was  a  nightmare  from  whichi 
she  had  not  strength  to  awaken. 

When  she  was  led  by  lloy  to  take  a  last  look  at  her 
father's  face  as  he  lay  in  his  coffin  ready  to  be  transported 


JESSAMINE.  243 

to  the  3hurch,  her  eyes  were  vacant  and  diy,  her  features 
emotionless. 

"  He  looks  very  natural !  "  she  said  slowly,  like  one 
trying  to  recall  the  conventional  phrase  in  such  circum 
stances.  . 

When  Eunice  bent  weepingly  to  kiss  the  frozen  lipa 
where  still  lingered  the  smile  of  ineffable  peace  with 
which  he  had  named  his  wife,  Jessie  eyed  her  with  a 
mixture  of  wonder  and  perplexity  ;  and  remarking  again, 
"  Very  natural !  almost  life-like  !  "  turned  away,  with  the 
air  of  one  who  had  said  and  done  all  that  could  be  required 
of  her. 

In  an  agony  of  alarm,  Roy  sough;  Dr.  YvTinters,  who 
had  called  to  inquire  after  the  health  of  the  family,  and 
to  see  if  he  could  be  of  service  in  their  affliction.  Eunice 
had  taken  charge  of  her  sister  at  night,  and  reported  that 
what  little  sleep  had  visited  the  latter  had  been  won  by 
the  use  of  anodynes.  Had  the  physician — asked  the 
bridegroom — a  sedative,  potent  enough  to  induce  slumber 
for  several  hours,  the  after  effect  of  which  would  not  be 
increased  cerebral  excitement  1  Come  what  might,  Jessie 
must  not  witness  the  obsequies  appointed  for  that  fore 
noon.  Her  mind  seemed,  to  him,  to  need  but  a  touch  to 
complete  its  overthrow.  While  the  two  gentlemen  held 
counsel,  Eunice  entered  with  the  welcome  news  that  Jessio 
had,  on  leaving  the  parlor  where  the  remains  lay,  gone 
voluntarily  to  her  own  room— she  having  shared  her 
sister's  since  their  common  bereavement — thrown  herself 
upon  the  bed  and  fallen  into  a  deep  sleep. 

The  church-bell  was  not  tolled  for  the  pastor's  funeral, 
and  a  band  of  trusty  yeomen,  stationed  fifty  yards  up  and 
down  the  road,  prevented  vehicles  from  approaching  the 


244  JESSAMINE. 

gate  of  Parsonage  or  elm  roll-yard.  The  reason  was  quickly 
disseminated,  and  the  value  of  the  precaution  universally 
admitted.  Mingled  with  the  tears  that  fell  upon  the  bier 
of  the  faithful  servant  of  GOD,  were  earnest  prayers  for 
the  restoration  of  health  and  reason  to  the  daughter — • 
"the  people's"  pride  and  pet  as  she  had  been  his — the 
merry,  popular  "  little  Jessie,"  who  was  known  to  every 
household  in  the  parish.  Many  wistful  eyes  sought  the 
closed  blinds,  behind  which  she  lay  wrapped  in  death 
like  slumber. 

"  The  only  hope  for  life  and  brain  !  "  Dr.  Winters  had 
pronounced,  and  the  dictum  was  repeated  far  and  near 
wit!)  awed  looks  and  subdued  breath. 

Within  the  manse,  all  was  hushed  and  dark.  Eunice 
sat  with  the  sleeper  while  the  services  at  the  church  went 
forward. 

"  Do  not  separate  us  this  morning!"  washer  petition 
to  Roy,  who  would  have  taken  the  post  himself.  "  I  have 
nobody  left  but  her  1 " 

She  interpreted  correctly  the  meaning  of  the  imperfect 
sounds  that  penetrated  her  seclusion — the  funeral  psalm, 
the  dull  tramp  of  many  feet  from  the  front  to  the  back  of 
the  church;  the  awful  pause — like  no  other  upon  earth — • 
that  told  the  coffin  was  sinking  to  its  place — the  voice  of 
prayer — the  brief,  reverent  utterances  with  which  the  dear 
dust  was  committed  to  the  keeping  of  the  Lord  of  Life, 
through  all  the  coming  ages  of  Time — then,  the  muffled 
tumult  of  departure.  She  sat  quiet  until  the  end  ;  restrain 
ing  sob  and  sigh  that  the  beloved  livhrg  should  not  be 
disturbed ;  staying  her  heart  upon  the  Father  of  the 
fatherless,  the  GOD  whose  goodness  the  expiring  saint 
had  charged  his  children  never  to  forget. 


JESSAMINE.  245 

Roy  relieved  her  as  soon  as  the  services  were  over. 

"  Thank  you,"  he  said,  kissing  her  with  a  brother's  fond 
sympathy.  "  Go  now,  and  leave  her  to  inc.  I  will  call 
yon,  should  you  be  needed." 

Alternately,  and  in  company,  they  watched  her  until 
Dr.  Venters'  third  visit  that  day  brought  hope  that  was 
confidence  to  their  tried  souls. 

"If  she  sleep,  she  shall  do  well !  "  said  Dr.  Baxter, 
when  Roy  carried  the  glad  tidings  to  him,  that  the 
stupor  had  changed  to  natural  slumber.  He  was  sit 
ting  in  the  window  of  Mr.  Kirke's  study  ;  for  a  wonder, 
wiihont  book  or  paper  before  him,  but  absorbed  in  con 
templation  of  the  mountain  scenery. 

"  Von  are  wearing  yourself  out,"  he  added,  observing 
that  Roy's  complexion,  tanned  by  the  sea-voyage,  was  fast 
regaining  its  natural  hue,  and  that  his  eyes  bore  evidence 
of  grief  and  anxiety.  "  Jessie  is  safe  in  her  sister's  care, 
and  while  she  sleeps  cannot  miss  you.  Bide  here  a  bit 
with  me  " — he  often  relapsed  into  the  Scotch  dialect — 
"  and  refresh  yourself  by  a  survey  of  this  picture.  I 
must  quit  you  all  to-morrow,  and  I  would  have  a  few 
words  with  you  before  I  go." 

Jessie  was  alone  when  she  awoke.  Eunice  had  been 
called  to  the  parlor  to  see  a  parishioner  from  the  other 
side  of  the  mountain  who  had  not  heard  of  Mr.  Kirke's 
decease  until  that  morning,  had  ridden  twenty  miles  to 
attend  the  funeral,  and  arrived  too  late.  Eunice  had 
been  too  long  the  obedient  servant  of  the  congregation  to 
hesitate  as  to  the  course  she  should  pursue  in  the  dilemma. 
Jessie  slept  soundly  and  peacefully,  and  Roy  would  be 
back  soon.  She  closed  the  door  noiselessly,  and  obeyed 
the  summons  of  her  father's  friend. 


240  JESSAMINE. 

Summer  zephyrs  were  coquetting  with  the  sombre  pine- 
branches  ;  summer-scents  were  stealing  up  to  Jessie'a 
windows  from  the  garden.  To  such  wooing  wThispcrs  and 
goodly  odors  had  she  awakened  many  mornings  during 
many  years.  She  mistook  the  colored  light  visible 
through  the  shutters  for  dawn ;  marvelled  sleepily  that 
her  limbs  ached  and  her  head  was  weary. 

"  It  must  be  time  to  get  up ! "  she  meditated,  'twixt 
sleeping  and  waking.  "Yet  I  am  not  rested.  I  have 
not  heard  Eunice  or  Patsey  go  downstairs." 

In  tossing  her  arm  up  to  pillow  her  head  for  a  second 
nap,  she  saw  her  sleeve.  How  had  she  happened  to  fall 
asleep  without  undressing  ?  She  sat  upright,  and  tried  to 
remember  when  and  how  she  had  gone  to  bed  overnight. 
How  queerly  her  head  felt ! 

"  As  if  it  had  been  dead  and  was  coming  to  life 
again  !  "  was  her  simile. 

She  was  at  home,  and  in  her  own  room ;  everything 
about  her  was  in  its  usual  order.  Yet  something  had 
happened.  What  was  it?  A  Bible  lay  on  the  stand  by 
the  bed.  Between  the  leaves  was  a  handkerchief.  She 
drew  it  out,  and  saw  Eunice's  name  in  the  corner.  How 
came  it  there  ?  Had  Eunice  sat  with  her,  last  evening  ? 
If  so,  why  ?  Her  feet  were  oddly  numb  when  she  stood 
up;  she  was  weak  and  dizzy  as  from  illness  or  fasting; 
but  she  walked  to  the  door,  opened  it,  and  hearkened 
for  movements  upon  the  lower  floor.  It  was  so  quiet, 
she  heard  the  droning  of  a  humming-bird  moth  which 
had  come  to  look  for  untimely  blossoms  in  the  honey 
suckle  draping  the  hall-window.  Another  sound,  almost 
as  monotonous,  blended  with  this — the  steady  flow  of  a 
man's  voice  talking  or  reading  in  the  study.  Who  was 


JESSAMINE.  247 

her  father's  guest?  And  what  hour  of  day  was  it?  It 
must  be  morning,  since  she  had  just  awakened,  yet  looked 
uiid  felt  like  evening. 

A  draught  from  the  open  door  she  had  left  blew 
(hat  opposite  slightly  ajar.  Surely,  that  was  Dr.  Baxter's 
voice !  Had  she  dreamed  of  his  arrival !  A  fearful 
dream,  the  dim  recollection  of  which  made  her  sick  and 
J'aint  ?  Sinking  to  a  settee  that  stood  outside  the  study- 
door,  seeking  to  stimulate  her  half -dead  brain  by  rubbing 
h"r  temples  hard,  she  endeavored  to  gather  the  meaning 
of  what  Dr.  Baxter  was  saying.  He  was  in  the  middle 
of  one  of  the  monologues  which  were  sometimes  a  bore; 
sometimes  a  delight.  A  gleam  of  amusement  flitted  over 
the  wan,  vacant  visage  of  the  eavesdropper  as  she  pictured 
t;>  herself — still  as  if  she  were  somebody  else  and  not 
Jessie  Kirke — the  knotted  handkerchief  she  doubted  not 
was  on  active  duty. 

"  Is  it  consistent  with  the  Divine  economy  for  an  im 
mortal  being  to  spend  twenty -five,  fifty,  threescore  and 
ten  years,  in  the  acquisition  of  knowledge  and  expe 
rience  for  which  he  is  to  have  no  use  in  the  world  to 
come  ?  Believe  me,  they  are  in  grievous  error,  denying 
themselves  the  abundant  consolations  which  the  hope  of 
a  continued  and  eternal  existence  should  bring,  who 
overlook  the  plain  teachings  of  the  word  and  the  almost 
divine  intuitions  of  the  human  soul  on  this  question.  The 
Future  Life!  What  is  it  but  the  stretching  into  regions 

O  Ci 

yet  unknown  to  us,  into  the  Eternity  of  which  we  have 
but  imperfect  conceptions,  of  the  life  which  now  is?  the 
Present,  which  is  the  journey  toward  the  continuing 
City?  Into  that  state  we  shall,  it  is  true,  be  born  aa 
spiritual  babes.  But  not  idiots!  As  the  instincts  and 


243  JESSAMINE. 

actions  of  the  babe  prefigure  the  disposition  and  appetites 
of  the  man,  so  the  habits  of  thought  and  feeling,  the 
inclinations  and  aspirations  of  the  newly  disembodied 
spirit,  will  bear  a  certain  relation  to  that  which  it  will 
ut  length  become — the  perfect  man  in  Christ  Jesus.  As 
hereditary  taints  and  hereditary  virtues  are  reproduced 
in  the  mortal  babe,  we  shall  find  definite  traces  of  our 
earthly  individuality  in  the  heavenly  nurseling.  And 
that  the  proportion  which  the  loftiest  attainments  of  the 
profoundest  philosopher  will  bear  to  the  infancy  of  this 
celestial  creature  will  be  less — far  less  than  that  which 
thu  mere  instincts  of  the  earthly  infant  bear  to  the  wisdom 
and  strength  of  the  adult,  I  also  believe.  We  shall  have 
to  begin-  with  the  rudiments  of  infinite  knowledge.  But 
we  shall  have  Eternity  in  which  to  learn." 

Jessie  still  chafed  her  forehead,  where  wrinkles  of 
pained  perplexity  gathered  and  deepened,  as  she  tried  to 
put  word  to  word  and  sentence  to  sentence.  She  lost 
what  came  next  in  vainly  attempting  to  get  the  sense  of 
these  last  sentences.  Perhaps  she  should  understand 
better  when  she  was  quite  awake. 

"  Such  proportion  as  the  seed  sustains  to  the  mature 
plant,  the  ovum  to  the  living,  moving  creature,  you  will  tell 
me — "  Dr.  Baxter  was  saying,  when  she  again  lent  atten 
tion  to  his  dissertation.  "  I  grant  it.  But  like  produces 
like  in  vegetable  and  animal  generation,  and  why  deny 
the  spiritual  analogy?  What  we  call  Death  is  but  the 
threshold — and  a  narrow  one — separating  the  vestibule 
from  the  temple.  It  is  all  one  building — the  Life  which 
GOD  has  given.  When  1  cast  off  the  cumbrous  shell  I 
have  borne  so  long  that  I  foolishly  fancy  it  is  myself- — a 
part  of  my  being  w'thout  which  I  should  be  naked,  shiv- 


JESSAMINE.  249 

ering,  and  helpless  ;  when  it  slips  from  my  soul  by  reason 
of  its  own  weight  and  rottenness,  I  shall  enter  upon  no 
new  existence.  It  will  be  /  still — not  a  different  crea 
tion.  For  a  moment,  perhaps,  I  may  not  know  what  haa 
happened.  Thus,  1  have  seen  a  butterfly  trembling  with 
the  strangeness  of  his  position,  clinging  with  damp,  un 
tried  wings  to  the  bough  that  supports  the  little  pendant 
coffin,  now  broken — from  which  he  has  just  crept.  A 
delicious  sense  of  liberty  and  space  there  may  be  as  one 
breathes  more  freely  in  leaving  a  close  room  for  the 
outer  air.  I  shall  miss  the  incubus  of  the  body,  and  the 
fleshly  desires  I  have  sloughed  off  with  it.  Then  will 
dawn  upon  me  gradually — as  I  have  strength  to  bear  the 
revelation,  that  I  have  passed  !  Not  been  made  over,  mark 
you!  We  are  nowhere  taught  that  regeneration  is  a  post 
humous  experience.  '  He  is  gone ! '  some  one  will  say. 
And  perhaps  another — '  He  is  dead  ! ' 

"  Dead  !  I  tell  you,  my  friend,  I  shall  be  the  livest 
man  in  that  room !  Not  until  that  hour  of  glorious 
emancipation  shall  I  know  what  life  is ! " 

There  was  an  interval  of  stillness.  Jessie  had  staggered 
to  her  feet.  Her  eyes,  no  longer  blank,  were  dilated  with 
intensest  and  eager  inquiry.  What  did  it  signify — this 
talk  of  death  and  the  life  to  come  ?  Who  was  the  speak 
er's  companion  ?  Her  father  ?  Oh,  why  did  he  not  speak  ? 

Another  voice,  deeper  and  sweeter,  made  reverent  re- 
• ponse : 

"  Thanks  be  to  GOD,  for  His  unspeakable  gift !  " 

She  Hung  the  door  widely  open  ;  faced  the  astonished 
men  with  the  demand,  shrieked,  rather  than  spoken: 

"  Where  is  he  ?  He  said  that !  my  father !  Where  \ 
he  now  ?  " 

li* 


250  JESSAMINE. 

"Jessie,  love  !  " 

Roy  caught  her  in  his  arms,  but  she  pushed  hire,  from 
her. 

"  I.  will  know !  I  am  going  mad  1  Where  is  my 
father?" 

Dr.  Baxter  secured  her  fluttering  hands  ;  looked  stead 
fastly,  yet  not  sternly,  into  her  eyes. 

•;  lie  may  be  here,  my  child  !  We  cannot  tell.  Be 
sure  he  remembers  and  loves  you  still,  he,  who,  while  in 
the  flesh,  held  you  so  dear.  Believe  this  and  be  still 
under  the  mighty  but  loving  hand  of  GOD!  " 

Her  head  sank  upon  his  shoulder. 

"  You  would  not  deceive  me !  You  are  a  good  man, 
and  speak  the  truth  always !  "  she  sobbed,  excitedly.  "  Is 
my  father  really  dead  ?  Oh,  I  remember  it  all  now  ! " 

With  the  resuscitation  of  the  torpid  intellect,  came  a 
fl-;od  of  tears,  mingled  with  anguished  exclamations — an 
hysterical  attack  that  only  abated  with  her  strength. 
By  nine  o'clock  she  was  asleep,  exhausted,  but  free  from 
fever  and  the  nervous  spasms  that  had  made  the  seizure 
alarming  at  first.  The  danger  was  tided  over,  for  the 

Ci  O 

present,  and  ere  the  rest  separated  for  the  night,  Dr. 
Baxter  returned  thanks  for  "  the  signal  deliverance," 
kneeling  between  the  husband  and  sister  ;  besought  com 
fort  and  peace  for  the  smitten  household  in  fervent, 
affectionate  words,  which  showed  that  however  his 
thought  might  stray  from  the  subjects  to  which  his  ac 
quaintances  would  hold  him,  his  heart  was  always  in  the 
right  place. 

"  I  cannot  thank  you  as  I  should  for  all  you  have  been 
to  us — all  you  have  done  for  us  !  "  said  Eunice,  as  they 
talked  of  the  morrow's  parting. 


JESSAMINE.  251 

"  Do  not,  my  dear  !  The  privilege  and  the  gratitude 
have  been  and  are  mine.  GOD  sent  me  to  you.  1  bless 
Him  for  it !  " 

It  was  after  sunrise  when  Jessie  unclosed  her  eyes. 
Eunice's  chair  was  still  by  her  pillow,  but  it  was  empty. 
Her  mind  was  clear.  She  had  no  difficulty  in  recalling 
how  the  gentlp  hands  had  laid  her  to  sleep  ;  the  mellow 
voice  read  to  her  from  The  Book — "  A  prayer  of  the  af 
flicted,  when  he  ponreth  out  his  heart  before  GOD." 
Dear  Eunice!  her  love — tried  as  it  had  been  by  her  per 
versity  and  reserve,  her  late  violent  and  selfish  distress — 
was  more  precious  than  ever  before.  She  would  arise 
.  and  share,  if  she  could  not  lighten,  her  labors  and  her  bur 
dens.  As  she  sat  up  in  bed,  she  espied  -upon  a  lounge 
near  by,  a  gentleman's  dressing-gown.  The  blood  sprang 
to  her  cheeks  in  a  burning  torrent,  for  the  truth  flashed 
instantly  upon  her.  Roy  had  asserted  his  right  to  the 
exclusive  guardianship  of  his  wif e ;  had  sent  the  weary 
sister  to  take  the  rest  she  needed,  and  himself  kept  watch 
over  her  through  the  night.  There  came  to  her  no  soft 
ening  thought  of  the  anxious  affection  that  had  held  his 
eyes  waking  while  others  slept.  She  was  only  angry — 
desperately  indignant  that  he  had  dared  sit  there  and 
watch  her  without  her  knowledge  or  consent.  The  blind, 
mad  moment  passed,  she  stood,  for  many  more — white  as 
death — thinking !  Then  she  locked  the  door.  Hoy 
might  enter  at  any  instant,  or  Eunice  glide  in  to  ask  how 
she  was,  and  she  must  be  alone  while  she  thought  it  all 
out!  No  mortal  eye  witnessed  the  fight  of  the  next 
hour.  The  woman — torn  and  dashed  by  a  legion  of  pas 
sions — verily  believed,  while  they  had  the  mastery,  that 
the  would  not  survive  it.  She  never  told  the  tale  of  her 


253  JESSAMINE. 

hurts  to  her  dearest  earthly  friend.  It  was  something 
she  would  not  renew  by  relating,  even  when  time  hud 
almost  worn  away  the  scars. 

She  was  made  of  sterner  stuff  than  she  knew.  Ere  she 
quitted  her  chamber,  her  resolution  was  taken — every 
trace  of  the  strife  put  out  of  sight.  She  had  "  light 
enough  to  see  the  next  step."  If  she  were  bound  for 
life  against  her  will  and  conscience,  Hoy  was  baselv 
wronged — and  through  no  fault  he  had  committed  against 
her.  If  her  course  were  to  be  joyless — a  strait  and  rough 
path,  his  was  no  smoother  or  more  delightsome.  Recom 
pense  him  for  what  she  had  lost  for  him,  she  could  not, 
but  she  could  and  she  would  appear  dutiful  and  resigned. 

Fordham  coming  in  from  the  brisk  walk  in  the  early 
morning  air  by  which  he  had  tried  to  make-up  for  his 
vigil,  found  her  in  the  parlor,  arranging  the  books  upon 
bracket-shelves  and  dusting  the  rare  old  china  bowl  and 
vases  which  the  sisters  let  no  one  but  themselves  handle. 
Her  breakfast-toilette  had  been  carefully  made,  contrast 
ing  strikingly  with  yesterday's  nfyl-i.ge.  Her  rich  hair 
was  braided  as  she  used  to  wear  it,  and  banded  with 
black  ribbon  ;  her  white  cambric  dress  w;u;  belted  with 
the  same,  and  loops  of  narrower  hung  from  her  mon tiling 
brooch.  She  comprehended  all  that  had  happened  within 
the  week ;  accepted  the  expediencies  and  proprieties  of 
her  position  with  its  sorrows  and  duties,  and  he  honored 
her  for  it.  Her  attire  showed  that  she  consulted  his 
taste,  wished  to  be  fair  in  his  eyes,  and  for  this  he  loved 
her  better  than  ever,  if  that  could  be.  lie  did  not  know 
it,  but  the  woman  he  had  wedded  never,  in  her  previous 
or  subsequent  life,  gave  another  equal  proof  of  sirergth 
of  mincl  and  purpose,  as  when,  physically  faiat  and 


JESSAMINE.  253 

mentally  distraught  by  the  frightful  ordeals  she  had 
already  sustained,  she  lifted  this,  the  heaviest  cross  of 
all,  and  adjusted  it  to  her  shoulders  for  a  lifelong 
journey. 

The  greeting  between  them  was  affectionate  on  his 
tide — grave  upon  hers— very  quiet  on  both,  as  befitted 
the  circumstances  of  the  household. 

''  Ah,  Jessie,  darling!  I  am  glad  you  are  well  enough 
to  he  down  stairs!  But  are  JTOU  not  exerting  yourself  too 
much  ?  "  he  exclaimed  at  his  entrance. 

And — "  I  am  much  better,  thank  you  !  entirely  able 
to  be  about  as  usual,"  was  the  reply,  uttered  without  the 
flicker  of  a  blush. 

Then  he  kissed  the  cheek  that  was  neither  averted  nor 
offered. 

Dr.  Baxter  and  Eunice  appearing,  a  minute  afterward, 
saw  nothing  amiss.  There  may  have  been  nothing,  yet 

O  i/  O  *    v 

the  young  husband  had  looked  for  a  different  reception — 
now  that  his  Jessie  was  declared,  to  be  "  quite  herself 
again." 

He  was  a  patient  man  and  a  considerate,  and  the  secret 
disappointment  was  condemned  as  soon  as  recognized. 
This  was  not  the  time  for  love-making — or — this  was 
clearly  Jessie's  feeling.  To  oppose  her  scruple  while  her 
grief  was  so  fresh  and  her  nerves  unsettled,  would  be 
persecution.  She  deserved  all  grace  and  indulgence  at 
his  hands,  and  she  should  have  it.  Their  life — as  theirs 
was  all  before  them.  He  would  be  a  help  not  an  em 
barrassment,  to  the  orphans.  Jessie  loved  him!  Jessia 
was  his  wife  !  That  was  enough ! 


CHAPTER    XYI1I. 


[OY  FORDHAM  remained  ten  days  longer  in 
Dundee  in  consequence  of  an  arrangement  made 
by  Ills  brother  professors  by  which  they  divided 
his  duties  among  them,  Dr.  Baxter,  whose  par 
tiality  for  him  was  proverbial,  taking  a  double 
share  upon  himself.  The  furlough  was  not  accepted  by 
him  without  misgivings.  He  felt  that  he  ought  to  be  in 
his  place  at  the  beginning  of  the  college  session,  and  that 
to  avail  himself  further  of  the  generous  kindness  of 
trustees  and  faculty,  after  a  year's  absence,  was  an  abuse 
of  the  same.  Dr.  Baxter  wrote  him  two  strong,  short 
letters  to  refute  this  idea,  and  he  found  additional  solace 
for  his  conscience  in  the  discovery  that  he  was  needed  by 
the  sisters.  Eunice  and  he  were  joint  executors  of  Mr. 
Kirke's  small  property.  To  Jessie  were  left  her  mother's 
dowry  with  the  accumulated  interest ;  her  mother's  picture, 
and  certain  articles  of  jewelry,  dress,  and  furniture,  which 
had  been  hers.  Everything  else  was  Eunice's — a  portion 


JESSAMINE.  255 

li.it  did  not  nearly  equal  her  sister's,  but  with  which  she 
/as  more  than  content.  The  settlement  of  the  estate 
vas  easily  accomplished.  The  just  man  had  no  debts, 
iid  the  few  legal  papers  needful  to  secure  the  title  of 
iis  possessions  to  his  children  were  in  perfect  order. 

At  the  end  of  a  week  the  only  open  question  was  that 
f  Eunice's  residence.  Roy  had  engaged  a  house  in 
lamilton,  and  was  urgent  in  his  desire  that  she  should 
ive  with  Jessie  and  himself.  The  conscientious  elder 
ister  hesitated  in  the  knowledge  that  her  income  would 
ict  support  her  in  like  comfort  anywhere  else. 

"  My  inclination  leads  me  to  follow  Jessie,'1  she  con- 
essed  to  her  brother-in-law.  "My  sense  of  duty  to  iny- 
elf  and  to  you  makes  me  doubt  the  propriety  and  justice 
>f  living  in  comparative  idleness,  when,  if  I  had  not  the 
helter  of  your  roof,  I  must  work  to  eke  out  a  maiii- 
enancc." 

Which  quibble  Roy  pronounced  absurd  and  far- 
etched. 

"Quite  unworthy  of  sensible  Eunice!  To  say  nothing 
•f  the  manifest  unkindness  to  our  poor  girl  here,"  he  said, 
s  his  wife  entered  the  room  where  he  was  sitting. 

Come  here,  Love,  and  convince  this  unreasonable  and 
ceptical  woman  that  she  is  indispensable  to  our  happi- 
less." 

Jessie  yielded  passively  to  the  arm  that  drew  her  to  his 
:nee. 

"  What  is  it  ? "  she  asked,  listlessly. 

Roy  gave  an  abstract  of  the  situation. 

She  looked  confused — uncertain  whether  she  had  heard 
lira  aright.  It  was  an  effort  to  understand  anything, 
omctimes.  Roy  and  Eunice  glanced  from  her  to  one 


25  G  JESSAMIN  IS. 

another.  They  saw  that  dazed  look,  heard  her  stammer 
oftener  than  either  liked  ;  dreaded  nothing  else  so  much 
as  they  did  the  repetition  of  the  scenes  attending  their 
father's  demise  and  burial. 

"  Of  course  she  will  live  with  me — with  us,  wherever 
we  go !  "  she  rejoined.     "  Unless  yon  object " — to  Roj 
"  But  I  was  under  the  impression  that  you  wished  it,— 
that  the  matter  was  definitely  arranged." 

"  It  is,  now !  "  said  Roy  confidently,  and  Eunice  did  not 
dispute  it. 

There  was  a  clear,  more  constant  light  in  her  eye,  now 
tli at  the  responsibility  of  the  decision  was  removed  from 
her,  and  the  step  determined  upon  without  her  vote.  The 
prospect  of  separation  from  her  sister  was  very  painful/ 
and  there  were  other  reasons  why  Hamilton  should  be  a 
pleasant  home  to  them  all.  This  was  her  representation 
of  the  case  to  herself  and  to  the  friends  who  lamented 
losing  her. 

"Mourning  is  very  becoming  to  Miss  Kirkel"  waa 
the  usual  remark  of  these  visitors  upon  leaving  the  Par 
sonage. 

And — "  She  is  really  a  most  lovely  woman.  What  will 
the  congregation  do  without  her?" 

Roy  was  to  leave  them  for  a  fortnight,  to  attend  to  his  > 
classes,  and  forward  the  preparations  for  the  reception  of 
his  bride.     When  all  was  ready  for  their  removal,  he 
would  return  to  superintend  the  sale  of  furniture,  stock, , 
etc.,  then  take  the  sisters  back  to  town  with  him. 

"  M}r  family ! "  lie  said,  in  forced  gayety,  on  the  morn 
ing  of  his  departure.     "  I  assure  you,  my  consequence  in  i 
my  own  eyes  is  mightily  augmented  by  the  acquisition 
of  my  new  honors." 


JESSAMINE.  257 

Eunice  called  up  one  of  her  slow,  bright  smiles  in 
acknowledgment.  Jessie  appeared  to  heed  the  com 
pliment  as  little  as  she  did  the  parting,  that  drew  tears 
from  her  sister's  eyes  and  choked  Roy's  farewell  direc 
tions  as  to  the  care  she  must  take  of  herself  while  he  wag 
away. 

"  I  shall  write  to  you  every  day,  my  sweet  wife,"  lie 
promised.  "  And  it  will  not  harm  you — it  may  help  you 
to  while  away  the  time,  if  you  can  scribble  a  few  lines  to 
me  in  return,  now  and  then." 

;'  If  I  can  I  will.  If  you  wish  it  I  will  write  certainly. 
But  don't  expect  to  hear  every  day  from  me.  There's 
very  little  here  to  write  about,  you  know,"  answered 
Jessie. 

Eunice  wondered,  to  reverent  admiration,  at  the  love 
and  forbearance  with  which  he  thanked  her  for  the  con 
cession. 

They  attended  him  to  the  porch.  The  morning  was 
foggy,  and  Roy  put  Jessie  back  in  the  shelter  of  the  hall- 
door. 

"  It  is  too  damp  for  you  out  here !  Don't  stand  there 
t>  >  sec  me  off  !  " 

Eunice — maybe  he — would  have  been  better  satisfied 
Imd  she  disregarded  the  loving  command.  As  it  was, 
when  he  waved  his  hand  from  the  carriage-door,  Eunice 
stood  alone  in  the  doorway.  Yet  she  was  sure  Jessie  did 
not  mean  to  be  ungracious ;  that  she  was  not  really  insen 
sible  to  the  devotion  of  the  husband  of  her  choice ;  that 
but  for  the  stay  of  his  presence  she  must  have  gone  mad 
or  died  in  her  overwhelming  grief.  What  she  mistook  for 
unwifelike  reserve  was  an  incessant  effort  to  control  her 
self,  to  play  the  woman  and  not  the  child.  It  was  best 


258  JESSAMINE. 

not  to  interfere  even  so  far  as  to  hint  that  Roy's  kindest 
schemes  for  her  comfort  and  pleasure  as  often  as  not 
were  unnoticed  by  verbal  thanks  or  grateful  look  from 
her  whom  he  aimed  to  benefit.  As  Jessie's  interest  in  the 
ouier  world  and  passing  events  revived,  this  blemish  would 
vanish.  Older  people,  who  had  known  more  of  the  disci 
pline  of  life,  had  fallen  into  the  mistake  of  idolizing  their 
eojTows  while  they  were  new. 

The  sisters  were  at  tea  on  the  third  day  of  Mr.  Ford- 
ham's  absence,  when  a  letter  was  brought  to  Jessie. 

"From  Roy!"  she  said,  quietly,  and  laid  it  down  by 
her  plate  until  the  meal  was  finished, — Eunice  hurrying 
tli rough  hers  in  the  belief  that  the  wife  wished  to  be  alone 
when  she  read  it. 

Instead  of  this,  Jessie  broke  the  seal,  and  read  the  four 
closely  written  pages  by  the  lamp  upon  the  supper-table, 
while  her  sister  washed  the  silver  and  china  in  the  same 
little  cedar- wood  pail,  with  shining  brass  hoops,  her 
mother  had  used  for  this  purpose  a  quarter  of  a  century 
before.  Eunice  was  inclined  to  be  scrupulous  in  the 
matters  of  extreme  cleanliness  and  system  in  housekeep 
ing,  and  neatness  and  fitness  of  apparel ;  and  had  other 
and  quaint,  but  never  unpleasant,  peculiarities  that  leaned 
toward  what  the  vulgar  and  unappreciative  style  "  old- 
maidism."  But  she  was  a  bonny  picture  to  behold  to 
night,  her  black  dress  setting  off  her  fairness  to  exquisite 
advantage;  her  features  chastened  into  purer  outline  and 
a  softer  serenity  by  sorrow ;  her  eyes  more  beautiful  for 
the  shadows  that  had  darkened  them. 

She  was  younger  in  appearance  and  feeling  than  her 
companion,  who  scanned,  without  change  of  expression 
and  complexion,  the  love-words  that  had  streamed,  a 


JESSAMINE.  259 

strong,  living  tide,  from  the  writer's  heart.  She  read  it 
all,  from  address  to  signature  ;  then  handed  it  to  her  sis- 
tor,  who  had  just  summoned  Patsey  to  remove  the  hot 
water  and  towels. 

''  There  are  several  messages  to  you  in  it,"  she  said, 
languidly.  "  You  can  read  them  for  yourself." 

Eunice  drew  back. 

k'  I  don't  think  he  meant  it  for  any  eyes  but  yours,  dear. 
Tell  me  what  he  says  to  me." 

"  I  should  have  to  go  all  over  it  again  in  order  to  do 
that,"  returned  Jessie.  "  They  are  scattered  sentences — 
business  items  and  the  like.  You  may  look  for  them  at 
your  leisure.  I  shall  leave  the  letter  upon  the  table 
here." 

She  put  it  down  under  her  lamp,  and  turned  her  chair 
to  the  fire. 

This  was  their  sitting-room,  now  that  the  two,  with 
Patsey,  composed  the  household.  By  tacit  consent,  they 
avoided  the  parlor,  as  recalling  too  vividly  the  gatherings 
and  the  happiness  of  other  days.  Jessie  had  leaned  back 
in  her  cushioned  seat,  staring,  in  a  blank,  purposeless  way, 
at  the  fire  for  five  minutes  or  more,  when  Eunice  took  her 
place  with  her  work-box  on  the  other  side  of  the  hearth. 

"  You  insist,  then,  that  I  shall  read  your  love-letter  ? " 
she  asked,  pleasantly. 

Faithful  to  her  promise  to  Roy  to  do  all  in  her  power 
for  the  restoration  of  Jessie's  native  cheerfulness,  she 
compelled  herself  to  wear  a  tranquil  countenance  in  her 
sight,  to  speak  hopefully,  and,  when  she  could,  brightly, 
in  addressing  her. 

Jessie  neither  smiled  nor  frowned.  She  looked  eim 
ply  and  wearily  indifferent. 


260  JESSAMINE. 

•'  If  you  please,"  she  said,  without  withdrawing  hep 
eyes  from  the  blazing  logs. 

Eunice  skimmed  the  first  three  pages  cursorily,  on  thai 
•watch  for  any  mention  of  her  own  name,  beset,  all  thej 
while,  by  the  idea  that  her  act  in  opening  the  letter  at  fill; 
bordered  upon  profanation,  and  affected  almost  to  teara 
by  stray  sentences  she  could  not  avoid  seeing,  eloquent  oi: 
the  young  husband's  tender  compassion  for  his  loved  one,; 
his  longings  to  be  with  her,  and  fond  prognostications  of 
the  peace  and  joy  of  their  future  life. 

At  the  top  of  the  fourth  page,  a  passage  seemed  to 
dart  up  at  her  from  the  sheet,  and,  leaping  into  view,  to 
be  changed  into  characters  of  red-hot  flame  : 

"  What  a  discreet  little  woman  you  are,  never  to  hint  toj 
nit:  your  knowledge  of  Orrin's  engagement!  The  com 
munication  took  me  completely  by  surprise.  lie  would 
scarcely  believe  that  you  had  not  told  me ;  said  that  lie! 
went  down  to  Dundee  on  purpose  to  impart  to  you  the. 
agreeable  and  important  secret.  The  marriage  is  fixed; 
for  December.  I  always  prophesied  that  he  would  marry 
in  haste  when  he  had  once  selected  the  lady,  whom  I  ami 
extremely  curious  to  meet.  lie  has  floated  from  flower! 
to  flower  so  long  that  his  selection  ought  to  be  worth  see 
ing.  You  know  her,  he  tells  me.  I  shall  expect  a  full- 
length  description  of  her — done  in  your  finest  style,  when 
I  return.  I  own  I  should  be  better  satisfied  that  be  is  to, 
be  made  as  happy  as  I  would  have  him,  if  Miss  Sanfordj 
were  not  an  heiress.  While  we — you  and  I — and  others! 
who  know  him  well,  will  never  suspect  him  of  selling] 
himself  for  money,  the  above  fact  may  give  occasion  for 
scandal-mongers  to  rave  and  exult.  The  father  of  the.] 
bride-elect  is  in  town.  I  met  him  011  the  street  to-day 


JESSAMINE.  261 

with  Orpin.  Rumor  has  it  that  his  business  here  is  to 
purchase  the  new  house  opposite  Judge  Provost's,  as  a 
residence  for  the  happy  pair.  It  will  be  a  handsome 
tome,  but  I  hope  and  believe  that  we  shall  be  as  content 
ivith  our  love-nest  of  a  cottage." 

Jessie  did  not  look  around  as  her  sister  refolded  the 
etter,  tucked  it  into  the  envelope,  and  laid  it  upon  the 
able.  But  while  each  believed  herself  to  be  separated 
From  the  other  by  a  fathomless  gulf  of  memories,  every 
me  of  which  was  an  anguish,  both  were  pondering  the 
•nme  section  of  the  epistle  that  lay  between  them.  The 
imiouncement  of  Wyllys'  approaching  marriage  was,  in 
tself,  nothing  to  the  wrife.  The  thought  of  it  had  lost 
lie  power  to  wound  when  she  parted  with  her  faith  in 
lim.  The  wrong  he  had  done  her  could  never  be  for 
given  ;  he  had  misled  her  purposely ;  deceived  her  cruelly ; 
tad  robbed  her  life  of  love  and  hope,  and  given  her  self- 
-.011  tempt  and  remorse  in  their  stead.  But  she  did  not 
•egret  him — as  she  now  knew  him  to  be — or  linger  fondly 
!])on  recollections  of  their  by -gone  intimacy.  Hester 
•vinford  was  welcome  to  the  suitor  her  gold  had 
)ought. 

The  phrases  that  had  found  a  sentient  spot  in  her  breast 
vere  these :  "  Whom  I  am  extremely  curious  to  meet." 
'  I  shall  expect  a  full-length  description  of  her."  The 
ipathetic  misery  which  had  locked  brain  and  heart  with 
Betters  of  ice  since  her  father's  death  had  not  rendered 
ler  totally  unmindful  of  her  husband's  long-suffering  and 
gentleness,  his  unselfish  love  and  care  of  herself.  She 
»vas  persuaded  that  the  girlish  passion  that  had  made  of 
lim  a  demi-god  was  gone  forever.  Her  flesh  fainted, 
md  her  spirit  died  within  her,  at  the  caresses  to  which 


262  JESSAMINE. 

she  had  turned  herself  in  the  days  of  her  idolatiy,  ag 
roses  open  to  the  sun — as  innocently  and  as  naturally 
She  conld  never  love  again.  The  fires  had  scathed  too 
deeply  for  that ;  but  she  had  began  to  believe  that  she 
might  find  comfort  in  esteeming  and  liking  her  only  pro 
tector  ;  might  seek,  and  not  in  vain,  in  a  calm,  true 
friendship  for  this  good  man,  forgetfulness  of  the  storms 
that  had  wrecked  her  early  dreams.  In  his  frank  anc 
noble  presence  suspicion  stood  rebuked.  It  was  easier  to 
discredit  the  evidence  of  one's  own  senses  and  judgment, 
than  to  doubt  his  integrity. 

But  here  was  a  deliberate  deception.  He — Roy  Ford- 
ham — had  known  Hester  Sanford  before  she — Jessie — 
ever  saw  her.  She  was  the  intimate  associate  and  confi 
dant  t  of  his  former  love; — of  the  woman  he  had  re 
nounced  heartlessly  and  without  compunction, — and 
whose  name  had  never  passed  his  lips  in  his  wife's  hear 
ing.  She  recalled  faithfully  Hester's  account  of  the  call 
"Maria"  had  paid  with  her  then  betrothed  at  Mr.  San- 
ford's  house — a  statement  she  would  not  have  dared  to 
make,  had  it  been  groundless.  Whence  this  affectation 
of  ignorance,  on  Fordham's  part,  of  the  person  and  char 
acter  of  his  cousin's  intended  bride,  if  not  as  a  furthei 
means  of  keeping  the  knowledge  of  the  affair  from  her  f 

"  To  whom  it  should  have  been  told,  more  than  a  year 
ago  ! "  she  reflected,  a  dreary  loneliness  creeping  over 
her,  with  the  conclusion — "  He  is  like  the  rest  of  them  !] 
I  would  have  believed  in  him  if  I  could !  " 

The  door  shut  quietly.  She  did  not  hear  it,  or  miss' 
her  sister  from  her  place.  It  was  not  an  uncommon  oc 
currence  for  them  to  sit  together  without  speaking,  for} 
an  hour  at  a  time,  Eunice's  fingers  busied  with  some  arti 


JESSAMINE.  203 

cle  of  useful  needlework,  Jessie's  holding  a  book  which 
she  pretended  to  read  as  a  cover  for  her  griefful  musings. 
Much  less  was  it  in  the  imagination  of  the  younger  sister 
to  follow  the  elder  in  her  progress  up  the  staircase,  her 
face  more  stony  and  eyes  more  desolate  with  each  step, 
to  the  fair,  large  chamber  she  had  occupied  from  her 
childhood. 

It  was  cold  and  dark,  but  for  the  light  of  the  taper  she 
set  down  upon  the  mantel.  There  were  none  of  the 
fanciful  ormaments, — none  of  the  luxurious  devices,  the 
patches  of  bright  coloring  that  reflected  the  owner's  tastes 
and  whims  in  Jessie's  apartment.  All  the  draperies- 
those  of  the  windows,  the  dressing-table,  and  the  antique 
chairs,  were  pure  white,  as  were  also  the  walls.  The 
carpet  was  a  sober  drab,  checkered  with  narrow  lines  of 
blue.  The  aspect  of  the  whole  was  so  chill  and  grave 
on  this  bleak  night,  that  Eunice  shivered  as  at  the  breath 
of  winter,  as  she  drew  np  a  seat  to  a  stand  in  the  middle 
of  the  floor,  and  leaned  her  head  upon  the  hard  wood. 
lsrot  a  tear  or  word  escaped  her,  but  a  deft  and  an  invisi 
ble  engraver  was  at  work  upon  her  features,  sharpening 
outlines,  deepening  here  a  stroke  and  there  a  furrow, 
until  the  father  would  not  have  known  his  child. 

I  said,  many  pages  back,  that  Orrin  Wyllys'  victims 
made  no  moan.  Least  of  them  all,  was  this  one  likely  to 
publish  her  case  to  the  world, — to  shriek  out  her  great 
and  sudden  woe  in  the  ear  of  heaven  and  of  her  kind. 
She  had  never  loved  before  she  met  him,  and  the  dis 
covery  of  this  curious  fact  had  stimulated  his  professional 
zeal — animated  his  pride  in  the  honor  and  success  of  hia 
vocation.  lie  had  found  the  key  to  her  heart,  and  had 
used  it.  Love  is  no  holiday  romance  when  it  comes  thus 


264  JESSAMINE. 

late  in  life  to  a  woman  of  large  capacity  for  affection, 
and  a  will,  the  strength  of  which  has  hitherto  made  the 
repression  of  such  seeking  instincts  and  needs  as  win  for 
weaker  girls  the  reputation  of  lovingness  and  dependence, 
appear  even  to  those  who  know  her  best  like  tranqu.il 
contentment  with  her  allotted  share  of  love  and  compan 
ionship.  She  had  heard  herself  called,  "  a  predestined 
old  maid,"  ever  since  her  mother  left  her,  a  demure 
infant,  apt  and  serious  beyond  her  years — to  become  her 
fathers  co-worker  and  comforter.  Her  calm  smile  at 
the  nickname  looked  like  conscious  superiority  to  dread 
of  the  obloquy — a  fear  that  infects  all  classes  of  her  sex. 
Her  love  was  as  reticent  as  her  longing  for  affection  had 
been.  Orrin's  most  insidious  arts  had  not  suiiiced  to  sur 
prise  her  into  confession.  Of  marriage  he  had  never 
spoken,  nor  she  permitted  herself  to  think.  Her  attach 
ment  was  artless  and  uncalculating  as  a  child's.  He  had 
convinced  her  that  the  subtle  sympathy  of  their  souls 
had  made  them  one  from  their  earliest  meeting;  that  he 
had  then  recognized  in  her  his  spirit-mate.  The  seduc 
tive  cant  came  trippingly  from  his  tongue  with  the  fluent 
convincingness  of  much  practice,  and  she  was  listening 
to  it  for  the  first  time.  His  dual  game  was  adroitly 
conducted,  and  the  result  was  a  triumphant  cap-sheaf  to 
his  harvest  of  hearts.  His  bride-expectant  would  have 
torn  her  flaxen  hair — natural  and  artificial— with  rage 
had  she  guessed  how  tame  he  found  his  pursuit  of  her 
self;  how  deficient  in  the  flavor  of  excitement  that  had 
marked  his  courtship  of  the  beautiful  but  fortuneless 
country  girls. 

The   hall-clock   rang  out   nine   strokes  when  Eunice 
shook  off   her   reverie,  and  unlocked   a   drawer  of  her 


JESSAMINE.  265 

bureau.  It  was  lined  with  silver  paper,  and  the  odor  of 
dried  violets  stole  into  the  still,  cold  air  when  she  opened 
it.  A  bunch  of  withered  flowers;  a  small  herbarium 
filled  by  Wylljs  and  herself  in  their  woodland  and 
mountain  i  ambles, — the  vignette  on  the  title-page,  from 
his  pencil ;  all  the  inscriptions,  names  of  specimens,  and 
poetical  legends,  penned  by  his  hand ;  a  thin  bundle 
of  letters  and  notes ;  five  or  six  books — favorite  works 
with  both  of  them — composed  the  contents.  She  took 
them  out  carefully,  one  by  one,  and  laid  them  in  a  heap 
upon  the  table.  Then,  she  sought  in  the  closet  for  a  wal 
nut  box,  one  of  her  childhood's  treasures,  an  oblong 
casket  with  a  sliding  top  and  a  strong  lock.  Without 
audible  evidence  of  suffering,  she  arranged  the  relics 
within  it,  with  the  nice  regard  to  neatness  and  order 
which  was,  with  her,  intuitive  as  it  had  become  habitual. 
The  last  article  was  a  volume  of  Spenser's  "  Faerie 
Queen e "" — an  English  edition  elegantly  illustrated.  Wyl- 
lys  had  sent  it  to  her,  the  Christmas  Jessie  passed  with 
Mrs.  Baxter.  His  pencillings  were  upon  several  pages, 
and  one  of  the  fly-leaves  bore  an  extract  from  Tennyson, 
lie  had  apologized  for  transcribing  it,  there,  in  the  letter 
accompanying  the  gift,  by  saying  that  it  was  ever  in  his 
mind,  when  he  watched  or  talked  with  her.  No  eyes 
save  his  and  hers  had  ever  seen  the  lines  as  written  upon 
that  page,  and  they  were  the  more  precious  to  her  that 
this  was  so. 

Eyes  not  down-dropt,  nor  over-bright,  but  fed 
With  the  clear-pointed  flame  of  chastity  ; 
Clear  without  heat,  undying,  tended  by 
Pure  vestal  thoughts  in  the  translucent  fane 
Of  her  still  spirit ;  locks  (not  wide-dispread) 
Madonna- v.-iee  on  either  side  her  head ; 


266  JESSAMINE. 

Sweet  lips,  whereon  perpetually  did  reign 
The  summer  calm  of  golden  charity, — 
Were  fixed  shadows  of  thy  fixed  mood. 

She  unclosed  the  book  and  re-read  them  before  con 
signing  it  to  its  place.  How  vividly  arose  before  her  tho 
scene  of  that  Christmas  Eve,  when  the  parcel  was  brought 
to  her !  Her  father  always  spent  the  evening  of  the 
twenty-fourth  of  December  in  his  study — and  fasting.  It 
was  an  anniversary  with  him ;  scrupulously  observed  for 
many  years,  of  what  event  or  crisis  in  his  life  his  daugh 
ters  never  knew.  Eunice  had  made  her  preparations  for 
a  lonely  evening  by  her  chamber-fire ;  collected  her 
books  and  work  about  her  that  she  might  not  feel  too 
sadly  the  want  of  human  converse.  But  she  had  touched 
none  of  these :  was  sitting,  her  head  on  her  hand,  i>-azino; 

*  o  *  /  o  o 

into  the  fire,  hearkening  to  the  wind  as  it  flung  fierce 
dashes  of  sleet  against  the  windows,  and  longing,  how 
hungrily !  for  some  visible  evidence  that  she  was  remem 
bered  and  missed  by  another,  as  she  thought  of  and  missed 
him.  Into  her  solitude  had  come  his  gift  and  letter,  and 
the  night  was  all  light  about  her ;  the  .world  was  no  more 
dark  and  cold  and  tempestuous.  She  walked  in  Paradise, 
hand  in  hand  with  the  good  genius  who  had  wrought  the 
spell. 

The  idealistic  character  of  woman's  love  is  at  once  her 
blessing  and  her  curse.  Orrin  Wyllys,  at  that  hour  danc 
ing  at  a  Christmas  rout,  the  gayest  of  the  season,  looking 
meaning  but  umittered  flatteries  into  other  eyes  ;  feign 
ing — as  he  best  could  feign — to  wrait  as  for  the  sentence 
of  life  and  death,  upon  other  "  sweet  lips,"  would  have 
laughed  in  unmixed  amusement  had  he  seen,  in  a  magic 
mirror,  the  representrnent  of  himself  before  which  a  pure, 


JESSAMINE.  267 

fervent  s.ml  was  laying  votive  offerings  of  her  best 
affections  and  richest  fancies; — to  which  she  was  looking 
np  as  to  the  highest  of  human  intelligences,  the  embodi 
ment  of  manhood's  virtues  and  graces.  While  to  her  the 
delusion  was  happiness  without  stain  or  shade,  while  it 
lasted. 

It  was  over  now !  Returning  from  the  pursuit  of 
these  shadows — dearer  and  fairer  than  any  real  joy  and 
positive  delight  that  would  ever  visit  her  solitary  life, — 
she  let  the  leaves  of  the  book  she  still  held  unfurl  slowly 
under  her  fingers,  reading  a  line  here,  a  paragraph  there) 
always  those  marked  by  the  hand  that  must  never  meet 
hers  again  with  the  lingering  touch  which  said  more  than 
the  most  impassioned  words  from  other  tongues.  A  blue 
ribbon  was  inserted  at  one  place,  where  a  passage  was 
encircled  by  pencilled  brackets,  while  in  the  margin  was 
written,  "  E.  K." 

Her  angel's  face 

As  the  great  eye  of  heaven  shined  bright, 
And  made  a  sunshine  in  a  shady  place. 

Eunice  shut  her  eyes  in  a  throe  of  memory  that 
ploughed  deep  pain-lines  in  her  visage.  '  Hell  may  keep, 
but  earth  has  not  a  keener  torment  than  the  contempla 
tion  of  what  was  once  sweetest  joy, — now  changed  into 
shameful  agony. 

The  book  had  fallen  to  the  floor  and  lay  still  open  at 
the  page  marked  by  the  ribbon.  In  picking  it  up,  her 
eye  rested  upon  another  line — unmarked. 

At  last,  in  close  heart  shutting  up  her  pain. 

The  rest  of  Eunice  Kirke's  life  was  a  commentary  upon 
that  passage. 


268  JESSAMINE. 

The  travail  of  concealment  be^an  when  she  turned  the 

o 

lock  upon  the  mementos — few  and  innocent — of  her 
only  love-dream.  Hitherto,  it  had  been  a  pearl,  too  price 
less  and  pure  to  be  exposed  to  other  eyes. 

Defaced  and  crushed  by  one  rude  blow,  it  was  some 
thing  to  be  thrust  out  of  sight,  kept  beyond  the  chance 
of  suspicion  or  detection — buried  in  a  nameless  grave. 

The  key  of  the  casket  was  a  tiny  thing,  at  which  she 
looked  for  an  instant  in  irresolution  that  ended  in  her 
raising  the  window,  and  flinging  it  far  into  the  garden. 
The  rain  would  soon  beat  it  into  the  loose  mould.  It 
would  be  rusted  into  uselessness  before  the  spring  plough 
share  brought  it  again  to  the  surface.  Upon  the  lid  of 
the  box  she  fastened  a  card. 

"  To  be  luried  with  me"  she  wrote  upon  it  with  fin 
gers  that  did  not  tremble. 

The  grave  seems  near  and  welcome  in  the  ague-fit  that 
shakes  the  soul  from  the  divine  illusion  of  reciprocal 
affection.  There  was  not  a  symptom  of  sickly  sentimen- 
talism  in  Eunice's  nature ;  but  she  did  feel  that  she  could 
have  said  farewell  to  existence  and  the  few  she  loved, 
with  less  effort  than  was  required  to  dress  her  counte 
nance  in  its  wonted  serenity,  and  go  back  to  her  sister ;  to 
speak  and  act  as  if  a  thunderbolt  had  not  riven  the 
ground  at  her  feet ;  to  consult  her  rustic  and  unobserv 
ant  handmaid  about  homely  details  of  the  morrow's  house 
keeping.  Confirmations  all  of  them — of  the  stubborn 
fact  that  the  business  of  life — its  tug  and  sweat  and 
strain,  halts  not  for  broken  heart-strings. 

If  the  iron  be  blunt,  a  man  must  lay  to  it  more  strength. 
If  the  spirit  refuse  to  bear  its  part  in  the  appointed  work 
of  the  hour,  or  day,  or  life,  the  muscles  and  brain  must 


JESSAMINE. 


209 


This  toiling  and 


be  educated  to  perform  double  duty, 
reeking  at  the  galley-oar  may  bring  power  to  the  sinews, 
and  hardness  to  the  flesh,  but  woe  to  him  by  whose 
offence  the  burden  is  bound  upon  the  guiltless! 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

'HE  third  Sabbath  in  October  was  bland  and  bright 
as  June.  Roy,  who  had  arrived  in  Dundee  on 
Saturday  evening,  invited  his  wife  to  a  stroll  in  the 
garden  with  him  after  the  dispersion  of  the  after 
noon  congregation.  There  were  more  sere  than 
green  leaves  in  the  rose  labyrinth,  but  one  side  of  the 
arbor  was  covered  by  a  thrifty  micro,  phylia  that  had 
been  known  to  keep  its  foliage  from  Autumn  to  Spring 
when  the  winter  was  not  severe,  and  which  had  put 
forth,  within  a  week,  a  few  large  milk-white  roses, 
warmed  into  delicious  fragrance  by  the  sunny  day. 

"  Sweets  to  the  sweet ! "  said  Roy,  cutting  a  half-open 
blossom   and    a    bud,   and   fastening   them   in    Jessie's 
brooch.     "  I   wish  they  did   not  match  your  cheeks   so 
nearly,  Love !  " 
She  smiled  faintly 

"  I  am  gaining  strength  rapidly.     There  is  nothing  the 
matter  with  me,  except  that  I  have  not  enough  to  do  to 


JESSAMINE.  271 

keep  me  from  moping.  There  is  one  thing  you  must  let 
me  speak  of  while  Eunice  is  not  by," — she  continued, 
hurriedly.  "  I  may  not  have  appeared  grateful  for  your 
pel-mission  to  remain  here  until  her  arrangements  about 
the  school  are  completed,  but  I  am  thankful !  I  feel  your 
goodness — your  generosity,  deeply  !  I  wish  I  were  more 
worthy  of  it !  " 

Unconsciously,  she  had  laid  hold  of  the  lappel  of  his  coat, 
and  was  fingering  it  nervously.  Then — a  girlish  trick 
she  used  to  practise  when  coaxing  or  bantering  her 
father,  and,  occasionally,  when  talking  saucily  with  him 
self — she  began  with  deliberate  fingers  to  button  the 
coat  from  the  throat  down.  "  Making  a  mummy  of  me, 
Madcap  !  "  was  the  alliterative  comment  Mr.  Kirke  usually 
made  when  the  process  was  finished.  Roy  recollected  it 
now,  and  smiled  to  himself.  The  action — her  first 
voluntary  caress  since  his  return  from  abroad,  thrilled 
him  with  ecstasy.  Her  downcast  eyes  and  trembling 
lips  recalled,  in  one  rapturous  rush,  thoughts  of  the  shy 
dalliance  of  the  girl  he  had  wooed  amid  these  bowers. 
He  was  winning  her  back  to  her  true  self, — or,  rather, 
nature  and  affection  were  recovering  from  the  lethargy 
induced  by  the  shock  she  had  sustained. 

"  My  wife  must  never  speak  to  me  of  gratitude  !  "  lie 
said,  restraining  the  paean  the  heart  would  have  sung 
through  the  lips.  "  Your  happiness  should  be — if  I  know 
myself — is  my  chief  consideration.  Much  as  I  regret 
Eunice's  refusal  to  share  our  dwelling,  I  should  be  savage 
in  my  unkindness  if  I  were  to  add  to  your  disappoint 
ment  by  denying  your  request  that  you  might  be  left 
together  a  week  or  two  longer.  Nor  do  I  wish  to  punish 
her,  or,  in  any  manner,  express  my  chagrin  at  her  de- 


272  JESSAMINE. 

termination.  She  is  actuated  by  motives  vhicii  are 
weighty  in  her  estimation.  The  sight  of  her  glistening 
eyes  when  I  told  her,  this  morning,  that  yon  were  not 
to  be  separated  while  she  remained  in  the  Parsonage, 
went  far  toward  compensating  me  for  my  self-denial. 
]3y  and  by,  my  bird  will  nestle  in  my  bosom,  settle  her 
self  in  onr  home.  The  knowledge  that  you  are,  indeed 
and  in  truth,  mine,  dear  one,  renders  me  patient,  almost 
satisfied,  in  your  absence.  If  I  say  hourly,  in  the 
thought  of  your  coming  to  and  dwelling  with  me — 
'  GOD  speed  the  day !' the  aspiration  does  not  incline 
me  to  force  your  inclination,  to  withhold  from  you  a 
reasonable  indulgence,  that  I  may  see  you  the  sooner  in 
your  right  place.  I  would  be  your  husband — not  your 
jailor,  my  pet !  " 

It  was  impossible  to  look  into  his  moved  face  ;  to  hear 
the  cadence  of  passion  and  yearning  that  trembled  along 
the  last  sentences,  and  not  believe  that,  whatever  might 
be  the  record  of  his  past  loves  and  defections,  his  whole 
heart  was  now  given  to  her  who  bore  his  name.  The 
listener's  paroxysm  of  humility  bowed  her  in  spirit  to  his 
feet.  He  was  heaping  burning  coals  upon  her  shamed 
head. 

"  And  GOD  make  me  fit  for  that  home ! "  she  said, 
solemnly,  lifted  in  the  exaltation  of  high  resolve  above 
the  mental  apathy  and  physical  repulsion  which  had,  up 
to  this  hour,  made  this  enforced  union  an  ever-present 
nightmare.  "  Indeed,  Roy,  I  will  strive  to  be  a  good 
wife !  I  have  nothing  to  live  for  except  the  hope  of 
making  you  happy.  You  know  what  I  am,  weak  and 
faulty — a  spoiled  child  from  the  beginning,  to  whom 
everything  like  discipline  was  unknown  until  lately. 


JESSAMINE.  273 

And  then — one  stroke  followed  another  so  rapidly  that  I 
have  hardly  been  sane,  I  think.  But  I  do  want  to  satisfy 
you  in  every  respect,  or  so  far  as  one  like  me  can ! " 

"  '  So  far  as  you  can ! '  "  his  whole  soul  in  the  eyes  tha. 
beamed  into  hers,  and  in  the  sweet,  proud  smile  irradiat 
ing  his  grave  features.  "  The  work  is  done,  dearest ! 

o  O  * 

My  cup  runneth  over.  It  will  scarcely  bear  a  rose-leaf 
this  evening, — only  this  seal  of  our  renewed  covenant, 
my  angel  of  blessing,  my  good,  true  wife  !  "  bending  to 
kiss  her. 

lie  remembered  afterward,  how  she  clung  to  his 
shoulder  and  hid  her  face  there,  when  he  placed  her  be 
side  him  on  the  bench  in  the  arbor,  where  they  sat  out 
the  half-hour  of  sunset  as  they  had  so  many  others  in 
days  gone  by. 

Eunice,  seated  behind  the  tea-urn  when  they  obeyed 
Patsey's  summons  to  supper,  noted  the  lessened  gloom  of 
her  sister's  mien  and  Roy's  expression  of  radiant  content ; 
saw,  when  they  gathered  about  the  hearth  for  the  even 
ing's  talk,  that  Roy  took  in  his  clasp  the  hand  which 
generally  lay  listlessly  across  its  fellow  in  Jessie's  lap, 
and  that  she  allowed  him  to  retain  it.  Saw  and  was 
thankful  for  these  slight  harbingers  of  the  return  of  the 
love  and  brightness  which  were  once  her  child's  life. 
Tried  to  comfort  herself  in  her  isolation  with  the  belief 
that  the  night  was  passing  from  her  darling's  spirit. 

"  Wounds  soon  heal  in  hearts  young  and  healthy  as  is 
hers !  "  she  thought.  "  For  this,  at  least,  I  may  return 
hearty  thanks." 

Within  two  days  after  the  receipt  of  Roy's  first  letter, 
Eunice  had  announced  to  Jessie  the  reverse  of  her  plans 
for  the  winter  Instead  of  removing  with  them  to  Ilara- 
12* 


274  JESSAMINE. 

ilton,  she  had  decided  to  hire  a  cottage  in  the  village,  and 
open  a  school  for  girls.  She  had  partially  engaged  both 
house  and  pupils  before  she  broached  the  subject  to  her 
sister.  Thoroughly  aroused  from  her  selfish  languor  by 
the  startling  intelligence,  Jessie  had  opposed  the  scheme 
with  might  and  main.  Accustomed  as  she  was  to  Eu 
nice's  calm  but  resolute  measures,  and  her  taciturnity  re 
specting  her  own  views,  wants,  and  plans,  this  retreat  from 
a  position  which  had  not  been  taken  without  much  and 
serious  thought,  filled  her  with  consternation.  Having 
plied  her  unsuccessfully  with  arguments  and  entreaties  of 
her  own  devising,  Jessie  wrote  to  Roy,  begging  him  to 
use  his  powerful  influence  to  avert  the  threatened  evil. 

"I  cannot  do  without  her  !  "  she  said,  without  staying 
to  reflect  upon  what  might  be  the  husband's  feeling  on 
reading  the  avowal,  "  unlike  as  we  are  and  reserved  as  we 
have  been  to  one  another  on  some  subjects,  our  hearts  are 
knit  together  by  bands  which  are  all  the  stronger  for  our 
lato  loss.  In  the  anticipation  of  this  parting,  my  only 
sister  seems  to  me  like  my  second  soul — the  other  part  of 
myself.  I  shall  be  less  than  half  a  woman  without  her. 
Yon  can  do  more  with  her  than  any  one  else.  If  you 
desire  my  happiness,  and  I  know  you  do,  entreat  her  not 
to  leave  me  ! " 

If  aught  in  this  letter  wounded  Fordham,  nobody  knew 
it.  He  wrote  to  Eunice  forthwith  and  urgently ;  did  his 
best  to  dissuade  her  from  the  novel  project,  partly  be 
cause  he  loved  and  respected  her,  chiefly  because  the  mat 
ter  was  one  that  concerned  Jessie's  comfort  and  happiness. 
lie  accomplished  nothing,  except  to  elicit  from  Eunice 
the  admission  that  she  had  no  counter-reasoning  to  offer, 
a,nd  «i  miJd  but  firm  repetition  of  her  unalterable  resolve, 


JESSAMINE.  275 

lie  made  a  second  attempt  on  Saturday  evening,  during 
Jessie's  absence  from  the  room.  Eunice  sewed  on  stead 
ily  without  a  word,  while  he  set  forth  the  disadvantages 
of  her  present  plan — the  advantages  of  the  former. 
Finally,  brought  to  bay  by  his  argument  and  searching 
questions,  she  confronted  him  abruptly. 

"  I  must  have  work,  and  plenty  of  it,  just  now,  Hoy  !  I 
dare  not  be  idle  !  When  it  shall  be  safe  and  best  for  me 
to  rest  and  think,  I  will  accept  your  offer.  I  beg  you  to 
believe  that  I  act  from  principle — not  caprice.  I  am  sure 
that  I  am  doing  right.  And  now,  please  say  no  more." 

He  desisted  at  that,  and  with  characteristic  magnanim 
ity,  undertook  to  reconcile  his  wife  to  the  separation,  by 
holding  out  the  hope  that  it  was  but  temporary,  besides 
inquiring  into  the  minutiae  of  her  design,  and  lending  her 
what  assistance  she  required  in  the  furtherance  of  it.  All 
was  in  train  when  he  returned  to  his  post  of  duty  on 
Thursday  morning.  Repairs  were  in  progress  upon  the 
leased  cottage,  which  was  pretty  and  convenient ;  twenty 
pupils  engaged  to  begin  lessons  early  in  November;  the 
sale  of  the  surplus  furniture  was  over,  and  the  sisters, 
with  Patsey,  were  busy  getting  the  rest  of  their  effects  in 
order  for  transportation.  Jessie  was  to  follow  in  two 
weeks,  when  she  had  seen  Eunice  and  the  faithful  servant 
domiciled  in  their  new  abode. 

It  was  the  longest  fortnight  Roy  had  ever  known, 
although  lie  kept  his  loneliness  and  longing  to  himself, 
concealing  their  existence  most  carefully  from  his  wife. 
She  would  come  to  "  him  and  home,"  on  Wednesday  of 
the  second  week,  and  he  passed  every  hour  he  could  spare 
from  college  duties  and  sleep,  in  getting  the  house  ready 
for  her  reception.  On  Monday,  arrived  boxes  from  Dun- 


276  JESSAMINE. 

dee  which  he  unpacked  with  his  own  hands.  The/  con 
tained  Jessie's  personal  property — books,  books  and  bijou 
terie,  and  the  most  delightful  occupation  of  his  solitude 
was  the  arrangement  of  these  in  parlor  and  sitting-room. 
lie  slept  at  "  home,"  as  he  proudly  called  it,  after  these 
were  brought  in.  They  were  too  valuable  to  be  left  un 
guarded. 

On  Tuesday  night,  Orrin  Wyllys,  who  had  just  re 
turned  from  a  visit  of  three  or  four  days  to  \i\sfianeee, 
chanced  to  pass  the  house,  and  seeing  lights  on  the  first 
floor,  rang  the  bell. 

Hoy  answered  it.  He  was  in  dressing-gown  and  slip 
pers — a  cigar  in  one  hand,  a  book  in  the  other. 

"  A.  domesticated  Benedict  to  the  life  ! "  laughed  his 
cousin,  as  lie  followed  him  into  the  library.  u  Aha ! 
there  is  an  old  and  valued  acquaintance." 

The  portrait  of  the  girl  at  the  wTishing-well  hung  oppo 
site  the  door,  and,  he  observed,  in  exact  range  of  Roy's 
vision  as  he  sat  in  his  chair. 

"  You  will  find  many  more  il  you  will  use  your  eyes. 
Come  witli  me." 

The  dining-room  adjoined  the  library,  and  the  parlors 
were  just  across  the  hall.  A  bronze  statuette  of  Pallas — 
four  feet  high,  mounted  upon  a  column  of  Egyptian  mar 
ble — presented  to  the  popular  professor  by  the  students, 
was  the  most  conspicuous  ornament;  but  scattered  here 
and  there  were  many  interesting  works  of  art  selected  by 
him  in  foreign  lands — always  with  reference  to  Jessie's 
tastes  and  wisnes.  The  piano  was  Orrin's  bridal  gift— a 
surprise  held  in  reserve  by  the  fond  husband  to  brighten 
the  coming  home  of  his  household  deity.  But  the  sitting- 
room  back  of  the  state  apartments,  was  the  one  on  which 


JESSAMINE.  277 

he  had  expended  most  care  and  time.  A  bay-window  did 
duty  for  the  more  roomy  oriel,  and  the  shelf,  which  was 
an  extension  of  the  sill,  was  filled  with  plants. 

"Next  Spring  we  will  set  a  root  of  jessamine  outside," 
remarked  Roy,  when  Orrin  praised  the  infant  creepers — 
ivy  and  passion-flower — on  the  inside  of  the  casement. 

The  carpet  was  mosses,  green,  gray,  and  russet,  specked 
with  red-topped  lichens;  the  walls  were  flushed  with  pink. 
Jessie's  escritoire  was  in  one  corner,  her  work-stand  in 
another.  A  reading-lamp,  with  its  alabaster  shade,  was 
upon  the  centre-table,  and  a  low  lounging  chair  beside  it. 
The  picture  of  Jessie's  mother  hung  over  the  mantel ; 
Jessie's  books  strewed  the  stands,  and  were  ranged  in  rows 
within  a  handsome  bookcase  at  the  back  of  the  room. 
Choice  engravings  were  hung  in  good  lights,  and  within 
the  fireplace  lay  long,  well-seasoned  logs  ready  for  light 
ing. 

"  Beauty's  bower !  "  said  Orrin,  gazing  about  him  with 
unqualified  approbation.  "Who  would  have  given  you 
credit  for  such  a  genius  for  furnishing  ?  For  the  indi 
viduality  of  your  appointments  shows  that  you  are  not  in 
debted  to  the  upholsterer  for  the  charming  effect.  But 
perhaps  you  have  worked  under  orders.  Did  Mrs.  Ford- 
ham  and  her  sister  give  you  general  directions  ? " 

"  None.  I  am  happy  to  have  the  approval  of  a  con 
noisseur,"  rejoined  Roy,  lightly.  "  I  knew,  of  course, 
what  Jessie  would  like,  and  have  tried  to  please  her. 
Upholsterers  and  cartes  blanches  from  papa,  and  the  toils 
of  magnificence  are  the  luxuries  (and  nuisances)  of  men 
who  marry  heiresses.  As  perhaps  you  have  discovered." 

''Sagely  guessed!  I  heard  little  besides  millinery, 
dressmaking,  and  upholstery  talk  while  in  B — .  Pou- 


27S  JESSAMINE. 

deroua  preparations,  so  it  struck  me,  for  such  everyday 
events  as  marrying,  giving  in  marriage,  and  going  to: 
housekeeping.  I  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  I  was 
anti-domestic  in  my  proclivities,  but  a  sight  of  this  idyl 
of  a  home  has  staggered  the  belief.  I  am  glad  you  are 
married,  old  fellow ! "  clapping  him  on  the  shoulder. 
"  I  could  not  tell  you  in  a  month  how  glad  !  " 

"  Don't  begin,  then! "  Roy  led  the  way  to  the  library. 
"  Else,  not  to  be  outdone,  I  must  take  at  least  a  year  in 
which  to  express  my  gratification  at  the  event." 

Orrin  eyed  him  furtively  while  he  affected  to  be  en 
grossed  in  the  delicate  operation  of  lighting  the  cigar 
tendered  by  the  host.  Hoy's  clear,  open  brow,  sunny 
smile,  and  the  hearty  ring  of  his  voice  were  indubitable 
signs  of  the  sincerity  of  his  happiness.  It  was  with  a 
lighter  spirit — I  leave  conscience  out  of  the  question — 
that  his  kinsman  threw  himself  back  in  his  comfortable 
chair,  and  prepared  to  enjoy  the  evening. 

"  The  last  of  my  quasi  widowerhood  ! "  said  Roy.  "  I 
wish  it  were  the  last  of  your  bachelor  days,  Orrin  !  " 

"  Ca  viendra  !  "  returned  the  other,  his  cigar  between 
his  teeth.  "  Next  month  is  December." 

"  I  hope  your  wife  will  take  as  kindly  to  me  as  mine 
does  to  you  ! "  pursued  Roy.  "  And  that  I  may,  one 
day,  have  the  opportunity  to  prove  by  services  rendered 
her,  my  appreciation  of  the  care  you  have  taken  of  my 
interests  in  my  absence." 

"  Don't  speak  of  it,  my  dear  boy ! "  said  Orrin,  has 
tily. 

Even  he  colored  slightly  at  the  unintentional  sarcasm. 
He  coughed  to  emit  the  smoke  that  had  gone  down  the 
wrong  way,  and  this  gave  him  time  to  rally  his  ideus. 


JESSAMINE.  279 

i  o  harm  had  come  of  his  innocent  pastime.  Roy  was 
one  the  wiser,  and  his  bride  had  had  the  advantage  of 
new  sensation  in  the  development  of  her  latent  capaci- 
es  for  loving  and  Buffering.  She  would  be  better  and 
ronger  all  her  life ;  her  character  would  gain  breadth 
id  h'bre  for  the  emotion  that  had  stirred  the  depths  of 
er  being.  It  was  wholesome,  .if  sharp,  discipline — a 
>rt  of  spiritual  subsoil  ploughing,  without  which  she 
tight  never  have  developed  aright.  Women  were  a 
larvellous  and  an  entertaining  study.  Their  powers  of 
•aft  and  concealment  were  beyond  man's  ken  or  imita- 
on.  The  most  imprudently  passionate  of  them  acted 
>metimes  with  circumspection  that  would  put  a  Talley- 
md  to  the  blush.  Jessie,  mad  and  desperate  as  she  was 
;  her  last  interview  with  himself,  had  nevertheless  re- 
msidered  her  resolution  to  reveal  her  inconstancy  to  her 
,wful  lover,  and  judiciously  judging  that  the  Past  was 
:>ne  beyond  recall,  had  taken  up  with  the  old  love  so 
>on  as  the  new  one  was  off.  She  could  not  have  done 
jtter  for  all  parties.  "  Scenes,"  except  when  sentimen- 
1  and  en  tete-d-tete,  were  a  vulgarism  to  be  eschewed  by 
'fined  people. 

"  Jack  shall  have  Gill, 
Nought  shall  go  ill." 

3  repeated,  mentally,  thus  salving  the  smart  caused  by 
>y's  thanks.  "Jessie  and  I  will  be  capital  friends  and 
ighbors.  She  will  like  me  none  the  less  because  she 
lows  that,  had  she  been  possessed  of  the  fair  and  fond 
ester's  wealth,  her  destiny  would  have  been  changed. 
ie  is  too  acute  of  perception  not  to  comprehend  that,  in 
at  case,  my  sense  of  what  was  due  to  her  and  myself 


280  JESSAMINE. 

would  not  have  let  me  resign  her,  even  to  my  lionore< 
cousin,  here.  Bat  what  is,  is  best,  I  suppose. 

"  You  have  never  met  my  Dulcinea,  1  believe  ?  "  he  sai< 
aloud,  both  cigar  and  windpipe  being  in  good  working 
order  by  the  time  he  reached  this  consolatory  sequel. 

"  I  have  not  had  that  pleasure.  Jessie  gave  me  a  sligh 
sketch  of  her — a  mere  outline,  which  I  hope  to  fill  up  fo 
myself,  shortly,  from  life." 

"Then,"  meditated  the  cool  and  candid  bridegroom 
elect,  "  my  tow-headed  divinity  lied  egregiously  about  tha 
old  affair !  I  must  cross-examine  her  in  earnest,  and  i 
my  suspicion  is  correct,  make  her  retract  certain  counts  ii 
her  indictment  against  Jessie's  husband.  I  owe  him  tha 
much  reparation.  Since  they  are  a  wedded  unit,  thing 
should  go  upon  velvet  so  far  as  is  consistent  with  the  f ac 
of  human  imperfection.  I'll  send  the  lovely  Hester  t< 
make  amends  to  Mrs.  Fordham,  some  time.  If  I  do  no 
forget  it ." 

He  was  in  one  of  his  gracefully  indolent  moods  to 
night,  and  did  not  hurry  himself  in  speech. 

"  She  is  not  handsome.  You  would  not,  I  fear,  con 
eider  her  even  pretty,"  he  resumed,  after  a  few  lullinj 
puffs,  such  as  might  be  necessary  to  temper  loverly  exag 
geration.  "But  she  is  a  dear,  affectionate,  pliant  littli 
thing,  and  will  make  just  the  wife  a  blase  world  citizej 
like  myself  needs.  I  hope — I  think  you  will  like  her 
But  I  don't  expect  you  to  see  in  her  the  peer  of  you 
glorious  Jessie,  however  well  she  may  suit  me." 

Roy,  when  left  alone  again,  pondered  this  speech  dissat 
isfiedly. 

"  I  am  not  quite  content  with  this  match,  nor  wit! 
Orriu's  tone.  I  had  not  looked  for  a  lover's  rhapsodies 


JESSAMINE.  281 

knowing  his  critijal  taste  in  these  matters,  but  he  ought 
not  to  acknowledge  or  feel  the  need  of  apologies  for  hia 
choice.  I  am  afraid  his  love  does  not  leave  him  as  little 
to  wish  for  and  to  fear,  as  mine  does  me." 

He  looked  up  at  the  portrait  with  a  smile. 

"  But  there  is  only  one  Jessie  in  the  world,  and  she  will 
be  here  to-morrow  night." 

Still  standing  before  the  picture,  he  made  an  involun 
tary  gesture,  as  of  folding  something  in  his  arms. 

"  My  darling !  soon  to  be  my  angel  in  the  house !  I 
think  it  would  kill  me  to  lose  you  now." 

His  sudden  motion  had  struck  a  book  from  the  corner 
of  the  table,  exposing  a  letter  that  lay  beneath.  It  was  a 
foreign  envelope,  and  had  probably  been  given  to  the 
servant  by  the  postman  that  afternoon,  and  placed  there 
by  her  with  the  book  on  the  top,  for  safe-keeping.  An 
e  closure  fell  out  as  he  opened  the  cover — a  letter  that 
had  arrived  in  Heidelberg  after  he  set  out  for  home,  said 
a  line  from  a  fellow-student  in  the  University.  The  smile 
lingered  lovingly  about  mouth  and  eyes,  while  he  tore  off 
the  inner  wrapper. 

The  superscription  was  Jessie's ;  the  note  the  short  and 
cold  farewell  she  had  indited  after  her  parting  with  Orrin 
Wyllys,  on  the  5th  of  September. 

"  No  harm  done  !  "  reiterated  the  affectionate  kinsman, 
walking  slowly  along  to  his  lodgings,  under  the  pure  moon. 
"  I  should  have  been  sorry  had  she  carried  her  threat  into 
execution ;  spoiled  her  own  prospects,  and  made  Hoy 
wretched.  But  I  could  find  it  in  my  heart  to  regret  the 
witch  even  now  that  I  am  on  the  eve  of  beatification.  The 
affair  was  interesting — most  engaging  while  it  .arted — 


282 


JESSAMINE. 


had  more  cayenne  and  wine  in  it  than  this  very  lawful 
and  eminently  remunerative  love-making.  My 'lassie  wi' 
the  lint-white  locks,'  says  it  is  'just  the  sweetest  thing  in 
the  world.'  Pent  etre  ! 

'  An  excellent  piece  of  work,  Madame  Lady  ! 
Would  it  were  done  ! '  " 


CHAPTER  XX. 

was  a^  tne  depot  Wednesday  afternoon  to  meet 
his  wife. 

"You  are  not  well,  I  am  afraid!"  she  said, 
when  they  were  in  the  carriage  that  was  to  convey 
them  home. 

"  I  am  not  sick,  but  I  have  had  much  to  think  of  and 
i  do,  lately,  and  I  may  look  somewhat  jaded,"  he  an- 
\vered.  "  You  left  Eunice  well,  you  say  ? " 
"  Quite  well,  thank  you  !  You  have  overworked  your- 
jlf  in  getting  the  house  ready  for  me.  You  should  have 
)ft  that  for  me  to  do." 

"  It  was  not  necessary.     As  it  is,  you  will  find  much 
Dom  for  alteration  and  improvement,  I  doubt  not.     You 
Fere  fortunate  in  meeting  with  a  pleasant  escort  on  your 
>urney.     Are  you  much  fatigued  ? " 
"  No,  but  my  head  aches  a  little,"  turning  her  face  to 
jiie  window. 
She  was  disappointed  in  her  reception.     The  parting 


284  JESSAMINE. 

from  Eunice  had  been  a  grievous  trial ;  the  journey  fill 
with  mournful  thoughts  of  the  past  that  now  lay  so  vc 
far  behind  her.  In  turning  her  back  upon  her  paren 
graves  and  her  birthplace,  she  seemed  to  have  part 
company  forever  with  the  blithe  girl  who  had  been  be 
and  had  grown  up  to  woman's  estate,  careless  and  joyc 
as  the  swallows  that  had  for  a  century  built  their  nests 
the  belfry  of  the  church-tower.  She  had  almost  forgott 
how  Jessie  Kirke  felt  and  acted.  Yet  she  was  thanld 
that  in  the  midst  of  melancholy  and  dazement,  her  £ 
pointed  way  lay  clear  and  open  before  her ;  that  she  h 
still  a  sure  staff  on  which  to  lean, — the  hope  and  resol 
that  she  would  do  her  duty  bravely  and  well  in  the  splie 
for  which  her  marriage-vow  had  set  her  apart.  It  \t 
indicative  of  the  generous  temper  and  sound  sense  tl: 
never  failed  to  assert  themselves  when  the  momenta 
tumult  of  passion  had  passed,  which  neither  her  faults  n 
the  influence  of  the  tempter  had  warped,  that  she  h 
never,  for  one  moment,  blamed  Roy  for  hurrying  i'orwa 
their  marriage.  They  were  "  troth-plight,"  as  her  Sc< 
tish  ancestors  would  have  put  it.  She  had  said,  "  If  y< 
insist  upon  the  fulfilment  of  my  promise,  I  will  subn 
to  your  decision."  And  she  had  not  said  it  idly,  lie  hi 
taken  her  at  her  word,  as  he  had  the  right  to  do,  and  1 
that  pledge  she  would  abide. 

Lonely  and  tired,  the  sight  of  Roy's  face  in  the  crov 
of  strangers  upon  the  platform  of  the  Hamilton  stati* 
had  cheered  her  heart  like  a  cordial.  She  forgot  that . 
was  her  husband ;  remembered  him  only  as  a  not 
and  faithful  friend  in  whose  presence  she  would  be 
longer  solitary  and  sad.  She  was  even  conscious  of 
proud  sense  of  proprietorship  in  the  fine-looking,  digniti 


JESSAMINE.  285 

an  who  was  the  first  to  enter  the  car  when  it  stopped, — 
consciousness  that  flushed  her  cheeks  faintly,  and  quick- 
led  her  pulses,  as  she  introduced  him  to  the  gentleman 
ho  had  acted  as  her  escort  and  heard  his  well-chosen 
ords  of  acknowledgment  for  the  favor  done  him.  lie 
id  not  kissed  her  then — she  supposed  because  there  were 
many  looking  on  ;  but  after  taking  his  place  beside  her 
the  carriage,  he  might  surely  tell  her  that  her  coming 
ive  him  joy  ;  repeat  something  of  the  rapturous  antici- 
itions  that  had  overflowed  his  heart  in  writing  his  last 
tter,  received  by  her  the  night  before.  His  face  was 
>ry  pale,  his  eyes  abstracted,  his  voice  constrained, 
nything  more  unlike  the  Roy  she  had  known  in  Dundee 
mid  hardly  be  imagined,  without  changing  the  identity 
the  man.  It  was  not  surprising  that  a  qualm  of  home- 
:kness  weakened  her  heroic  resolutions ;  put  to  flight 
u'  dreams  of  forgetting  her  unhappiness  in  the  sustained 
fort  to  be  and  do  all  he  wrished. 

Roy  saw  the  struggle  and  surmised,  in  part,  the  cause 

it;  but  what  could  he  say  to  assuage  or  encourage? 

lie  caresses  and  fond  words  with  which  he  had  sought 

console  her  in  the  earlier  days  of  her  desolation  must, 

•  now  saw  in  the  lurid  light  shed  upon  his  honeymoon 

'  tli at  terrible   letter,  have  aggravated  her  sufferings. 

Professing  to  be  her  protector,  he  had  played  the  part 

a  brutal  ravisher  ;  had  torn  her, — shrinking  and  crying 

t  against  the  loathed  union  she  felt  would  "  be  a  sin — a 

O 

arful  sin,"  from  her  free,  happy  girl -life,  and  bound 
r,  soul  and  body,  in  fetters  more  hateful  and  enduring 
an  manacles  of  steel.  After  the  first  shock  of  horror 
j  of  grief,  lie  forgot  the  wrong  he  had  sustained  in  his 
ermastering  compassion  for  her.  And  he  could  no 


286  JESSAMINE. 

free  her  !  Loving  her  better  than  he  did  his  own  happi 
ness  and  life,  lie  was  powerless  to  ensure  her  peace  oJ 
mind  by  restoring  her  to  liberty.  Had  he  been  othe! 
than  the  true  Christian  and  true  man  he  was,  the  distract 
ing  anguish  of  that  conviction  would  have  driven  him  tj 
madness  and  to  suicide,  as  a  sequel  to  the  fearful  vigil 
that  followed  the  discovery  of  his  real  position. 

Light  came  with  the  morning,  and  strength  for  th^ 
day.  His  course  was  plain — to  mitigate  the  rigors  of  hei 
fate  by  such  kindly  deeds  as  a  brother  might  perform  foj 
the  promotion  of  a  sister's  welfare ;  by  abstaining  from 
even  such  manifestations  of  affection  as  are  a  brother' 
right.  There  should  be  no  formal  explanation  until  shj 
had  recovered  from  the  fatigue  of  her  journey,  and  begin! 
to  feel  at  home  in  her  new  abode.  Thus  much  he  couM 
and  would  do,  and  await  the  result. 

"  What  a  pretty,  pretty  house  !  "  exclaimed  Jessie,  as 
the  carriage  drew  up  at  the  gate  of  a  cottage  on  th< 
southern  slope  of  one  of  the  hills  on  which  the  handsoml 
town  was  built. 

She  had  meant  to  praise  his  selection  of  a  residencj 
however  ordinary  its  appearance,  but  her  enthusiastic  ai 
miration  was  genuine. 

Roy  smiled,  but  not  with  the  glad  gleam  she  looked 
to  see. 

"  It  is  good  and  kind  in  you  to  say  so  !  If  you  can  bf 
satisiied  here,  I  ask  nothing  better  or  grander." 

A  tidy  girl  opened  the  door,  whom  Jessie  recognizec 
with  pleased  surprise  as  a  former  servant  in  Dr.  Baxter! 
family. 

"  Why,  Phoebe  !  This  is  homelike  !  How  very  gel* 
erous  in  Cousin  Jane  to  give  you  up  to  me  !  " 


JESSAMINE.  287 

"  She  said  you  might  find  me  useful,  Miss  Jessie !  I 
beg  your  pardon — Mrs.  Fordham  !  "  replied  the  girl,  drop 
ping  a  courtesy. 

Jessie  colored,  Hoy  thought,  painfully,  at  the  as  yet 
unfamiliar  name.  He  interfered  to  save  her  further  em 
barrassment,  in  the  shape  of  congratulations. 

"  Yon  will  show  her  to  her  room,  if  you  please,  Phoebe. 
And  then  let  her  have  a  cup  of  tea.  She  has  a  headache. 
Your  trunks  will  be  sent  up  in  the  course  of  half  an 
hour,  Jessie,  but  I  would  not  advise  you  to  wait  for 
them,  or  take  the  trouble  of  changing  your  travelling- 
dress.  You  must  begin  your  life  here  by  doing  just  as 
you  choose  in  such  matters." 

He  met  her  in  the  hall  when  she  ran  down,  ten  min 
utes  later,  fearful  lest  she  had  kept  him  waiting,  and  led 
her  into  the  supper  room  ;  letting  her  take  her  place  be 
hind  the  tea-tray  without  one  of  the  tenderly  gallant 
speeches  with  which  a  bridegroom  would  naturally  in 
stall  his  bride  in  the  chair  always  appropriated  by  the 
mistress  of  heart  and  home.  lie  was  attentive  to  her 
wants,  and  talked  as  much  as  usual — perhaps  more — in 
the  endeavor  to  put  her  at  her  ease ;  telling  how  the 
flowers  upon  the  tea-table  and  in  her  chamber  were  sent 
over  at  noon  from  Judge  Provost's  conservatory  ;  that 
the  silver  service  was  a  present  from  the  Baxters,  the 
bronze  mantel-clock  from  Fanny  Provost,  who  was  very 
anxious  to  see  her  and  resume  their  old  intimacy.  Se- 
lina  Bradley  had  sent  the  chased  silver  butter-bowl,  and 
other  Hamilton  families  had  testified  their  good-will  by 
elegant  and  suitable  gifts. 

"  I  am  every  day  more  glad  that  you  spent  last  winter 
here,"  he  said.  "'  You  do  not  come  as  a  stranger ;  have 


233  JESSAMINE. 

already  pleasant  associations  with  onr  town  fJiJ  its 
inhabitants,  and  gained  a  foothold,  I  find,  in  many 
hearts." 

He  had  unwittingly  dealt  as  direct  a  blow  at  the  secret 
panel  that  hid  the  skeleton  in  her  heart,  as  he  had  at 
Orrin  Wyllys'  indurated  conscience  the  previous  evening. 

Jessie  had  no  words  in  which  to  reply  ;  sought  to  con 
ceal  her  confusion  by  steadfastly  regarding  the  pattern 
on  her  plate — one  of  a  set  of  china  Roy  had  purchased 
in  Dresden,  she  discovered,  presently,  when  she  remarked 
upon  its  beauty. 

"  I  had  no  idea  you  had  such  exquisite  taste !  "  She 
made  a  bold  attempt  to  break  through  the  nameless  but 
powerful  constraint  that  kept  down  everything  like  easy 
or  merry  converse  on  her  part.  "  I  expect  to  be  in  a 
state  of  perpetual  astonishment  on  that  score  for  a  long 
time  to  come.  I  did  not  know  that  learned  scholars  ever 
condescended  to  consider  such  petty  details  of  domestic 
life  as  porcelain  and  carpets." 

He  put  back  his  chair  without  replying  directly  to  the 
compliment,  at  which,  to  her  mortification,  he  looked 
rather  pained  than  pleased. 

"  If  you  have  finished  your  supper,  perhaps  you  would 
like  to  go  over  the  house?"  he  said,  politely.  "  Or,  if 
you  are  tired,  we  will  postpone  it  until  to-morrow." 

"  I  should  greatly  prefer  going  now  1 "  catching  at  the 
prospect  of  some  mitigation  of  the  growing  stiffness. 

The  survey  was  a  quiet  progress  for  the  most  part, 
certainly  not  accomplishing  the  end  she  had  hoped  for.  1 
Roy  said  little,  and  Jessie  felt  very  awkward,  as  door  j 
after  door  was  opened,  and  she  appreciated  the  thought- 
fulness  that  had  ministered  to  her  comfort,  from  first  to 


JESSAMINE.  289 

last,  yet  was  forbidden  by  the  mysterious  spell  chaining 
her  tongue,  to  thank  him  who  had  wrought  it  all.  But 
when  they  reached  the  sitting-room,  where  the  flames 
were  crackling  and  curling  among  the  wood  on  the 
hearth,  and  her  chair  and  fire-screen  awaited  her,  the 
home-restf ulness  of  the  scene  broke  down  the  ice  wall. 
The  feelings  that  had  gathered  to  oppression  upon  her 
heart,  overflowed  her  eyes  and  choked  her  articulation. 

"  This  is  too  much  ! "  she  exclaimed,  catching  Roy's 
hand  in  hers,  and  gazing  tearfully  into  his  face.  "  Oh  I 
what  am  I — " 

She  could  say  no  more. 

"  The  mistress  of  this  room  and  this  house  !  "  responded 
Roy,  in  kindly  seriousness.  "  One  who  has  a  right  to 
expect  every  attention  I  can  bestow.  This  is  your 
sanctum.  Nobody  shall  enter  it  without  your  permis 
sion." 

Jessie  tried  to  smile  playfully. 

"  Excepting  yourself  !  " 

"  When  you  want  me,  I  shall  come !  "  was  the  evasive 
reply. 

"  Surely  you  will  not  wait — 

The  remonstrance  was  cut  short  by  a  tap  at  the  door, 
[signalling  Mrs.  Baxter's  impetuous  entrance. 

"  My  dearest  lamb !  "  she  cried,  with  a  strangled  sob, 
;lasping  her  cousin  in  her  embrace. 

"  The  doctor  would  come  the  instant  he  had  swallowed 
us  tea!  "  she  tried  to  cover  Jessie's  emotion  and  her  o\vn 
y  saying,  when  she  could  speak  clearly.  •'  I  told  him 
t  was  barbarously  unfeeling  and  unromantic ;  that,  ac- 
ording  to  all  rules  of  etiquette  and  sentiment,  you 
hould  pass  this  evening  without  the  intrusion  of  coni- 
13 


JESSAMINE. 

pany.  But  lie  was  obstinate.  I  don't  believe  yon  two 
have  the  remotest  conception  of  his  favoritism  of  you  !  " 

Meantime,  the  doctor  had,  in  his  odd  fashion,  slipped  his 
hand  under  the  young  wife's  chin,  and  raised  to  the  light 
a  strangely  agitated  face — eyes  swimming  in  tears,  fore 
head  slightly  puckered  with  the  effort  after  self-contro), 
and  little  eddies  of  smiles  breaking  up  around  the 
mouth.  Roy  saw  in  it  the  whole  history  of  the  shipwreck 
of  her  heart  and  life,  and  her  womanly  determination  to 
keep  the  knowledge  of  the  disaster  to  herself.  Would 
the  physiognomist's  keenly  solemn  gaze  detect  as  much  ? 

Neither  of  the  lately  wedded  pair  was  prepared  fo1 
the  remark  with  which  he  released  the  blushing  Jessie. 

o 

"  I  wanted  to  see  if  the  heart  of  her  husband  could 
safely  trust  in  her.  My  daughter !  do  you  know  what  a 
good  man  you  have  married  ?  " 

"Do  not  raise  her  expectations  to  an  unreasonable 
height,  my  dear  sir!"  interposed  Roy,  in  time  to  fore 
stall  her  reply.  "  And  let  me  thank  you,  in  her  name 
and  in  mine,  for  the  honor  you  have  done  us  in  this 
early  visit." 

The  doctor  accepted  the  compliment  and  the  chair  that 
the  host  wheeled  forward,  in  profound  silence.  The 
conversation  had  been  carried  on  by  the  others  for  sev 
eral  minutes  before  he  again  joined  in.  He  was  aroused 
then  by  his  wife's  laudations  of  Orrin's  generosity  as  dis 
played  in  his  bridal  present. 

"  I  don't  see  how  you  can  take  it  so  quietly ! "  she 
berated  the  recipient.     "  One  would  suppose  pianos  were  . 
given  away  every  day!     And  you  should  value  the  in 
strument  the  more  highly  because  it  is  the  gift  of  your 
great  admirer  and  true  friend,  Mr.  "Wyllys.     I  assure 


JESSAMINE.  201 

yon,  Mr.  Fordham,  nothing  could  exceed  his  caie  of  and 
devotion  to  her,  for  your  sake  and  in  your  name,  of 
course  !  while  you  were  over  the  seas  and  far  away." 

"  True  friend  !  "  echoed  the  doctor's  dryest,  most  rasp 
ing  tones.  "  Humph  !  " 

"  JVbw,  my  love,  I  do  implore  that  yon  will  not  drag 
forward  that  most  unjust  and  unreasonable  prejudice  in 
the  present  company  !  "  cried  his  wife,  in  a  nervous  flut 
ter  from  her  bonnet-crown  to  her  gaiter-tips.  "  If  I  have 
failed  to  convince  you  that  it  is  groundless  and  absurd, 
oblige  me  by  withholding  the  expression  of  it,  here  and 
now !  " 

"  My  good  Jane ! "  returned  the  imperturbable  spouse 
— "Where  else  could  the  truth  be  so  fitly  spoken  as  in 
the  hearing  of  judicious  friends?  I  am  sorry  to  say,  Mr. 
Fordham,  that  my  excellent  wife  and  myself  do  not 
agree  respecting  Mr.  Wyllys'  character  and  actions." 

"Doctor!  doctor!"  ejaculated  the  frantic  woman, 
plunging  forward,  at  an  angle  of  forty-five  degrees,  to 
pluck  his  sleeve.  "You  forget  that  you  are  addressing 
Mr.  Wyllys'  cousin  !  " 

"  A  candid  man,  and  a  fair  judge  of  human  nature  and 
motives,  nevertheless,"  her  lord  went  on  to  say,  with  a 
stiff  little  bow  in  the  direction  of  the  person  named. 
"  The  only  safe  rule  among  friends  is  candor.  It  is  sel 
dom  I  attributesinisterpurposes  toonewhom  I  do  not  know 
certainly  to  be  malevolent  or  hypocritical,  but  when  I  de 
clare  it  to  be  my  firm  conviction  that  Orrin  Wyllys — (of 
whom  the  best  thing  I  know  is  that  he  has  descended  phys 
ically  from  the  same  stock  that  produced  your  husband, 
my  child'!)" — this  to  Jessie — "  when  1  affirm  that  I  believe 
him  to  be  a  wolf  who  ravens  safely  and  reputably  undef 


292  JESSAMINE. 

the  cowardly  cover  of  sheep's  clothing,  I  am  not,  as  my 
dear  Jane  here  would  persuade  herself  and  you,  the  victim 
of  causeless  prejudice." 

"  Dearest,  I  entreat ! "  broke  in  the  wife,  at  her  last 
gasp  of  distress. 

His  discourse  moved  on  majestically.  There  were  foui 
knots  in  his  handkerchief  already. 

"  From  the  moment  I  heard  Mr.  Wyllys  caution  Mrs. 
Baxter  not  to  allude  in  her  letter  of  invitation  to  our  Jes 
sie,  to  information  he  had  supplied  relative  to  her  person, 
residence,  and  education,  I  distrusted  the  singleness  of  his 
desire  for  the  resumption  of  Mrs.  Baxter's  intercourse  with 
the  family  of  her  early  friend.  When  the  invited  guests 
arrived,  and  I  learned  that  the  terms  of  their  previous 
intercourse  entitled  him  to  become  her  cavalier  on  all  oc 
casions  ;  her  preceptor  and  referee  in  doubtful  cases  of 
conscience  and  conduct ; — when  I  compared  this  circum 
stance  with  his  careless  and  apparently  accidental  men 
tion  of  her  to  Mrs.  Baxter,  and  his  pretended  indifference 
to  her  coming,  I  made  up  my  mind  that  he  was  particu 
larly  interested  in  her  for  some  reason  he  did  not  care  to 
divulge.  I  believe  still  that  this  was  the  case.  I  believe 
that,  knowing  her  to  be  betrothed  to  his  cousin,  he  strove, 
consciously  and  systematically,  to  win  her  from  her  alle 
giance.  I  thank  GOD  that  he  did  not  succeed ;  that  she 
has  given  herself  and  her  happiness  into  the  keeping  of  a 
true  and  honorable  gentleman !  " 

"  1  am  grateful  to  yon,  doctor,  for  your  staunch  friend 
ship  for  myself,  and  your  paternal  guardianship  of  my 
wife  !  " 

Roy  Fordham's  full,  pleasant  tones  reached  Jessie's  ears 


JESSAMINE.  203 

like  an  angelic  benediction  through  the  seething  chaos 
that  was  swallowing  her  up. 

'  I  am  glad,  moreover,  that  you  have,  in  the  present 
company,  introduced  the  subject  of  your  misgivings  re 
garding  my  cousin's  behavior  while  I  was  away.  I  ap 
pointed  him  my  proxy  before  I  left  my  betrothed  and  my 
native  land.  The  attentions  that  misled  you  into  doubt 
of  his  right  dealing  were  paid  in  that  character.  I  can 
not  have  you  undervalue  the  '  true  and  honorable  gentle 
man  '  I  know  Orrin  Wyllys  to  be.  He  is  my  friend  !  " 

The  doctor  tugged  at  his  cravat-bow  and  stared  into 
the  chandelier.  Mrs.  Baxter  gulped  down  all  the  solici 
tude  she  could  swallow,  and  threw  all  the  rest  into  the 
deprecating  look  she  cast  upon  Hoy.  lie  stood  before 
his  zealous  old  superior — courteous,  kind,  but  earnest  in 
defence  of  his  absent  friend — the  model  of  gallant  man 
liness,  thought  the  abject  creature,  cowering  in  the  shadow 
of  Mrs.  Baxter's  chair,  half  dead  with  remorse  and  the 
dread  of  additional  questioning. 

The  love  of  this  man  she  had  trodden  under  foot !  for 
gotten  affection  and  duty  to  him  in  the  mad,  wicked  de 
lirium  wrought  by  the  wiles  of  one  whom  Hoy,  in  the 
simplicity  of  his  integrity,  still  accounted  honest  and 
faithful.  A  cheat  and  a  coward  Jessie  had  written  Orrin 
down  since  that  early  September  day  when  he  confided  to 
her  the  fact  of  his  engagement,  and  shrank  visibly  at 
the  suggestion  of  Roy's  anger  at  his  shameless  breach  of 
faith.  She  stigmatized  him  now,  in  the  council  of  her 
thoughts,  as  a  liar  from,  the  beginning.  He  had  manoeu 
vred,  then,  to  procure  Mrs.  Baxter's  invitation  for  herself, 
while  he  denied  to  her  that  she  had  ever  been  named 
between  them  until  after  this  was  sent ;  had  inveigled 


294  JESSAMINE. 

her  away  from  the  shelter  of  her  father's  roor  and  the 
guard  of  her  sister's  care,  that  he  might  establish  his 
fell  influence  over  her.  Would  not  Roy,  with  all  his 
generous  trust  in  his  cousin's  honor  and  friendship,  com 
pare  the  doctor's  mal-apropos  statement  with  her  confes 
sion  of  the  change  in  herself,  and  arrive  at  a  tolerably 
correct  perception  of  the  truth  that  would  blast  her  for 
ever  in  his  sight,  as  not  merely  weak  and  fickle,  but  for 
ward  and  unmaidenly  ? 

When  the  throbbing  of  her  heart  would  let  her  listen 
intelligently  to  what  was  going  on,  the  doctor  had  beer 
beguiled  into  a  dissertation  upon  Druidistic  history,  by 
Hoy's  exhibition  of  a  paper-weight  in  the  form  of  an 
altar,  encircled  by  a  wreath  of  mistletoe,  graven  out  of  a 
bit  of  stone  he  had  picked  up  at  Stonehenge.  His  consid 
erate  spouse  carried  him  off  before  one-third  of  the 
knots  in  his  handkerchief  were  untied.  Her  valedictory, 
like  her  salutatory,  was  a  diffuse  apology  for  their  intru 
sion  upon  the  sacredness  of  the  installation-eve. 

"  But  the  doctor — dear,  blundering  man !  is  amenable 
to  no  laws  of  conventionality,"  she  subjoined,  with  an  in 
dulgent  shrug  and  sigh. 

It  is  questionable  whether  either  of  the  persons  ad 
dressed  regretted  the  breach  of  etiquette.  The  time  had 
gone  by  more  swiftly  and  comfortably  than  if  they  had 
been  left  to  themselves.  As  it  was,  an  embarrassing 
silence  followed  the  visitors'  departure.  Roy  stood  on 
the  rug,  facing  the  fire,  motionless  and  thoughtful.  Jes 
sie,  trembling  in  a  nervous  chill  that  changed  her  fingers 
into  shaking  icicles,  durst  not  attempt  to  speak. 

Fordham  finally  came  out  of  his  reverie  with  a  start, 
and  tuned  towaid  her  apologetically 


JESSAMINE.  295 

"•Ton  nr«  sadly  tired  1     Our  good  friends  were  very 
e,  but,  they  have  kept  you  up  beyond  your  strength. 


May  I  take  von  to  your  room  ?  " 

She  murmured  a  disclaimer  of  the  imputation  of  ex 
cessive  fatigue,  btit  took  his  proffered  arm,  and  they 
mounted  the  stairs  together. 

A  bright  fire  burned  in  the  large  front  chamber,  flashed 
gayly  back  from  the  gilt  fleur-de-lis  of  the  delicately 
tinted  wall  aper  and  tne  frames  of  the  few  pictures.  A 
cosey  arm  tiair  stood  ready  for  Jessie,  with  a  foot-cushion 
below  it,  and  the  marble  stabs  of  bureau  and  mantel  bore 
fragile  wealth  of  Bohertitau  and  frosted  glass  and  Parian 
ornaments. 

"  Is  there  anything  I  can  do  to  make  yon  more  com 
fortable  ?  "  inquired  Roy,  not  offering  to  sit  down. 
"  Wouldn't  a  glass  of  wine  do  your  head  good  ?  " 

"  I  think  not.  I  need  nothing,  thank  you  !  "  without 
raising  her  eyes  from  the  carpet. 

"  I  hope  you  will  be  quite  rested  by  morning,"  he  con 
tinued,  with  the  same  ceremonious  gentleness.  "  I  may 
as  well  explain  to  you  that,  foreseeing  how  frequently  I 
shall  be  obliged  to  sit  up  late  at  my  studies,  I  have  had 
the  chamber  opposite  prepared  for  myself.  So  I  will  bid 
you  good-night  now." 

He  held  out  his  hand.  She  placed  hers  within  it, 
silently,  eyes  still  averted. 

"  Good-night,  and  pleasant  dreams  !  "  he  repeated,  with 
a  kindly  pressure  of  the  chill  fingers. 

An  impulse  she  could  not  control  or  define  drew  her 
to  her  feet.  "  Won't  you  kiss  me,  Roy  ?  "  she  asked,  in 
sorrowful  humility. 

She  did  not  see  how  bloodless  were  the  lips  that  obeyed. 


290  JESSAMINE. 

The  salute  was,  to  her  apprehension,  cold  and  reluctant, 
and,  without  another  syllable,  he  passed  on  to  the  outer 
door.  There  he  stopped — hesitated,  with  a  backward 
glance  at  the  drooping  figure,  standing  where  he  had  left 
her— and  returned. 

"  I  had  not  intended  to  say  it  yet,"  he  said,  agitatedly 
"  There  have  been  times  when  I  questioned  the  propriety 
of  any  attempt  at  self-justification.  But  I  would  not  have 
you  think  worse  of  me  than  I  deserve  for  my  selfish  reck 
lessness  in  hurrying  on  our  marriage.  1  received  this  let 
ter  " — giving  it  to  her — "  last  night.  It  furnishes  the  clue  to 
much  that  I  now  see  ought  to  have  checked  my  unseemly 
impatience  to  claim  the  right  I  believed  was  still  mine. 
This  was  the  communication  to  which  you  referred  when 
you  pleaded  that  the  contents  of  your  last  letter  should 
have  hindered  my  proposal.  I  supposed,  in  the  haste  and 
excitement  of  the  moment,  that  you  meant  the  false 
rumor  of  your  mother's  insanity  which  had  been  treated 
of  in  a  former  communication,  the  receipt  of  which,  let 
me  say  here,  hastened  my  return.  Not  that  I  dreaded 
insanity  for  you,  but  because  I  gathered  from  your  letter 
that  you  were  unhappy  and  a  prey  to  morbid  fancies,  and 
I  hoped  to  be  able  to  do  you  good  by  diverting  these.  If 
this  '  last  letter '  which  you  hold  had  reached  me  in  sea 
son,  your  request  should  have  been  granted." 

lie  paused  to  master  his  own  emotion,  or  to  give  her 
opportunity  for  reply.  lie  may  have  hoped  yet,  in  the 
face  of  the  evidence  to  the  contrary  he  had  had,  that  she 
would  retract  her  declaration.  "  I  love  you  no  longer  " 
might  represent  that  she  was  possessed  by  "  morbid  fan 
cies  "  when  it  was  penned  ;  that  under  the  sharp  tutelage 
of  sorrow,  her  affections  had  regained  their  balance. 


JESSAMINE.  297 

She  only  sat  still,  her  face  hidden  in  her  hands.  There 
was  a  crouch  in  her  attitude  that  suggested  an  unpleasant 
idea  to  the  observer.  It  was  that  she  feared  him — his 
wrath  and  the  results  of  this  explanation.  He  forgot 
his  sufferings  in  the  desire  to  remove  this  apprehension  ii 
it  existed. 

"  My  only  hope  now  is,  that  since  I  know  what  I  should 
have  perceived  from  the  beginning,  I  may  spare  you  an 
noyance,  if  not  misery,  by  consulting  your  wishes  and  re 
specting  your  repugnances.  If  I  could  set  you  free,  1 
would.  My  heaviest  burden  is  the  consciousness  that 
this  is  impracticable.  But  it  is  my  desire  that,  from  this 
time,  you  should  cease  to  regard  me  as  your  husband,  and 
try  to  think  of  me  as  your  friend.  For  we  may  still  be 
that  to  each  other — may  we  not,  dear  Jessie  ? " 

She  was  moaning  as  in  mortal  pain. 

"  This  kindness  kills  me  !  I  liad  rather  you  should  say 
that  you  hated  me  !  " 

"  But  that  would  not  be  true,"  said  the  gentle  voice. 
"  And  henceforward  we  will  be  very  frank  and  just  in 
our  dealings  with  one  another.  We  will  try,  moreover, 
to  put  vain  regrets  out  of  sight,  and  to  do  the  duty  of  the 
day ;  to  serve  our  fellows  and  honor  HIM  who  has  some 
merciful  intent  in  leading  us  through  these  dark  waters. 
Now,  my  child,  this  subject  need  never  be  renewed.  Our 
Father  knows  our  sorrows.  To  HIM  we  will  look  for 
strength.  HE  knows,  too,  the  sincerity  of  my  sad  heart 
when  I  say  how  deeply  it  afflicts  me  to  feel  how  much 
more  grievous  is  your  trial  than  mine." 

Folding  in  his  the  hands  she  extended  in  a  speechless 
passion  of  tears — her  lips  trying  vainly  to  form  a  petition 
13* 


298 


JESSAMINE. 


for  pardon — he  prayed  the  GOD  of  all  consolation  to  have 
her  in  His  holy  keeping  ;  to  give  her  joy  for  weeping,  the 
garment  of  praise  for  the  spirit  of  heaviness.  Then,  bid 
ding  her  again  "  Be  comforted  and  sleep,"  he  went  out. 


CHAPTER    XXI. 

KNOCKED  at  Mr.  Fordharn's  door,  ma'am,  as 
you  bid,  and  he  said  that  he  wasn't  well  enough  to 
leave  his  room,  and  would  you  be  pleased  to  eat 
breakfast  without  him.  And  he  said,  ma'am,  that 
you  needn't  be  uneasy  the  leastest  bit  in  the  world, 
for  it's  only  a  cold  and  sore  throat  he's  got,  and,  indeed, 
if  I  may  make  so  bold  as  to  say  it,  he's  that  hoarse  I 
could  scarcely  hear  him  at  all." 

Phoebe  eyed  her  mistress  slyly  and  keenly  when  she  had 
delivered  her  message.  Although  not  particularly  given 
to  prying  and  gossip,  her  curiosity  was  excited  by  certain 
peculiarities  in  the  home  life  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fordham, 
for  which  the  supposition  that  the  master  of  the  house  had 
"  picked  up  German  ways,"  while  abroad,  did  not  fully 
account.  They  had  distinctly  separate  apartments,  carry 
ing  the  rule  of  division  so  far  that  Mr.  Fordham  never 
entered  his  wife's  sitting-room  without  knocking  at  the 

o  o 

door,  and  if  she  invaded  the  library  when  he  was  in,  she 


300  JESSAMINE. 

not  only  asked  admittance  in  the  same  way,  but  apologised 
for  interrupting  his  studies. 

"  They  are  too  polite  by  half ! "  Phoebe  estimated, 
judging  them  by  her  not  very  extensive  observation  and 
experience.  "  There's  Mrs.  Baxter  will  make  more 
fuss  over  her  dried-up  atomy  of  a  man  in  one  day,  than 
Mrs.  Fordham  does  about  her  fine  figure  of  a  husband  in 
a  year." 

She  had  never  seen  Mr.  Fordham  kiss  or  otherwise 
caress  his  bride,  or  indulge  in  any  of  the  romping  fond 
ling  which  the  lately  wedded  arc  prone  to  forget  may  be 
less  interesting  to  spectators  than  to  themselves.  Yet,  she 
was  ready  to  afiirm  stoutly  that,  in  her  parlance,  "  they 
thought  the  world  and  all  of  one  another  ; "  that  Mr.  Ford- 
ham  studied  his  wife's  inclinations,  anticipated  her  wishes, 
and  ministered  to  her  comfort  more  than  any  other  gen 
tleman  she  knew;  while  "Mr.  Fordham  likes  this,"  or, 
"  he  is  not  fond  of  that,"  were  decisive  phrases  in  Jessie's 
mouth  in  the  conduct  of  her  domestic  affairs,  and  her 
many  devices  to  make  his  home-coming  at  noon  and  even 
ing,  an  ever-new  pleasure,  called  forth  the  continual  ad 
miration  of  the  handmaiden. 

It  was  a  puzzle  past  her  finding  out.  But  here  was  a 
test  that  could  hardly  fail.  The  wife  should,  according 
to  Phoebe's  creed,  fly  on  the  wings  of  love  and  anxiety 
to  the  bedside  of  her  sick  lord  ;  become  his  nurse  and 
Bervitor  until  he  recovered. 

To  the  girl's  grieved  disappointment, — for  she  was 
sincerely  attached  to  the  whilome  "Miss  Jessie,"  and 
wanted  t )  think  well  of  her  in  all  things — Mrs.  Fordham 
Baid,  composedly,  if  not  coolly — "  Very  well,  Phoebe ! 
Bring  in  breakfast ! "  and  turned  again  to  the  window  at 


JESSAMINE.  301 

which  she  was  standing,  when  the  news  was  brought  tc 
her  of  her  husband's  sad  case. 

"  I'm  right  down  sorry — that  I  am ! "  grumbled  the 
servant  over  the  kitchen  range.  "  I  did  hope  she'd  show 
some  feeling  for  him  when  he's  maybe  took  for  dipthery 
or  quincy  or  something  else  awful.  And  he  such  a  good 
provider  and  well-spoken  gentleman,  and  never  so  much 
as  raising  his  voice  in  a  temper  with  her,  but  treating 
her  like  a  queen!  I've  a  mind  to  slip  up  myself,  and 
ask  what  he'll  have  to  eat.  These  are  the  beautifullest 
muffins  ever  I  see !  She  is  a  master  hand  at  the  like. 
And  I  know  she  made  these,  as  she  does  all  sorts  of  nice 
things,  because  he  likes  'em.  Queer  she  never  lets  on  but 
what  I  get  up  the  dishes  he  praises.  Mistresses  mostly 
is  glad  enough  to  pocket  the  compliments  as  belongs  to 
their  girls.  She's  a  genuwine  lady,  and  no  mistake,  but 
it  cuts  me  to  see  her  so  cold-hearted  to  him.  I  suppose 
they're  what  folks  call  a  '  fashionable  couple.' " 

While  this  soliloquy  was  going  on,  the  subject  of  it 
stood  still  at  the  window,  gazing  into  the  street.  It  was 
a  bleak  December  day.  There  had  been  rain  in  the 
night ;  then  the  thermometer  sank  abruptly,  and  by 
morning  the  sidewalks  were  glazed  with  ice.  The  earth 
was  black  and  grim,  the  clouds,  grayly  sullen,  seemed  to 
rest  upon  the  chimney-tops,  and  while  Jessie  looked,  it 
began  to  snow,  gently  for  a  while,  then  so  fast  that  a 
wavering  sheet  soon  shut  out  her  view  of  distant  objects. 
The  cottage  was  on  a  corner,  land  this  being  a  side-win 
dow,  gave  upon  the  college-grounds  on  one  hand,  Judge 
Provost's  house,  garden,  and  lawn  on  the  other.  By 
changing  her  position  never  so  slightly,  the  lady  could 
have  beheld  the  balconied  front  and  imposing  cupola  of 


302  JESSAMINE. 

the  Wyllys'  residence,  of  winch  the  happy  pair  had  taken 
formal  possession  ten  days  before,  postponing  their  bridal 
tour  until  Spring.  "  For,"  as  the  bride  eagerly  explained 
to  everybody — "  both  of  ns  have  been  everywhere  on 
this  side  of  the  water,  and  winter-travelling  is  an  awful 
bore.  To  be  sure,  we've  been  abroad,  too,  and  seen 
everything  that  is  worth  seeing.  So  we  are  beating  our 
brains  to  devise  something  recherche"  (pronounced  re- 
churchy)  "  in  the  way  of  a  wedding-trip.  And  it  is  so 
sweet  and  romantic  to  come  to  our  own  home,  right 
away  !  Indeed,  as  I  told  Orrin,  it  isn't  safe  to  leave  such 
carpets  and  furniture  as  ours  unprotected." 

Jessie  had  heard  all  this  fanfaronade,  and  much  more 
from  Mrs.  Baxter,  but  she  was  not  thinking  of  it  now. 
Nor  did  she  move  so  as  to  bring  the  "  new  and  superb 
mansion  of  our  popular  fellow-citizen,  Orrin  Wyllys,  Esq.," 
within  the  range  of  her  vision  ;  only  seemed  to  watch 
the  falling  snow,  and  the  few  passers-by  who  dotted 
the  whitening  streets  at  this  early  hour.  In  reality,  she 
was  speculating  upon  the  meaning  of  the  stillness  in  the 
chamber  overhead.  Was  Roy,  then,  too  ill  to  get  up  ? 
Was  his  room  comfortable  ?  What  attention  from  nurse 
or  physician  did  he  need?  How  was  she  to  learn  and 
supply  his  wants  ?  It  would  be  barbarous  unkindness, 
if  he  were  very  sick,  to  stand  aloof  and  leave  the  chargo 
of  him  to  hirelings.  Yet  her  personal  attendance  would 
be  awkward  for  both.  She  was  not  sure  that  he  would 
approve  of  it,  so  fastidious  had  been  his  care  to  excuse 
her  from  such  offices.  He  had  spoken,  in  an  off-hand 
way,  overnight,  of  feeling  chilly,  and  apologized  for  not 
offering  to  read  the  new  number  of  a  magazine  to  her  * 
by  saying  that  his  throat  was  sore.  Without  consulting 


JESSAMINE.  303 

him,  she  had  brewed  a  pitcher  of  hot  lemonade,  and 
insisted  upon  his  drinking  it  after  he  went  to  his  room. 
He  had  thanked  her  with  the  invariable  courtesy  that 
met  her  every  effort  to  serve  him,  and  "  was  sure  it  was 
all  he  needed.  A  most  agreeable  prescription  too !  "  lie 
added,  as  he  bore  off  the  pitcher.  It  was  a  shock,  after 
this  pleasant  parting,  to  hear  that  he  was  sick  in  bed. 
What  if  he  were  to  be  seriously  ill  ?  Her  heart  gave  a 
great  bound,  then  ceased  moving  for  a  moment.  He 
was  so  robust,  so  full  of  life  and  energy,  that  this  could 
not  be. 

What  if  he  were  to  die  !  She  too  thought  of  diphtheria. 
There  had  been  several  fatal  cases  of  it  in  Hamilton 
recently.  She  was  pale  and  faint ;  her  limbs  giving  way 
under  her  as  she  admitted  the  frightful  supposition. 
What  would  she  be — what  would  she  do  if  the  strong 
staff  of  his  protection,  the  solace  of  his  companionship, 
were  reft  from  her  ? 

For  she  knew  that,  little  cause  as  she  had  given  him  in 
the  circumstances  attending  their  marriage,  to  cherish  her 
us  all  men  should — as  some  men  do  the  women  who  love 
them  fervently  and  constantly,  there  was  hardly  a  wife  in 
the  land  who  was  surrounded  by  the  atmosphere  of  chiv 
alrous  devotion  which  encompassed  her  in  the  secluded 
life  she  led  as  the  nominal  mistress  of  Hoy  Fordham's 
iiiome.  Her  deep  mourning  was  a  sufficient  excuse  for 
leclining  to  enter  the  gay  circle  in  which  Mrs.  Wyllys 
Inttered  and  her  diamonds  and  husband  shone.  Bat 

y  saw  to  it  that  she  was  not  lonely.  The  Baxters, 
:*rovosts,  and  others  of  his  friends  were  often  with  them 
luring  the  day,  and  he  spent  his  evenings,  as  a  rule,  at 
lome. 


304  JESSAMINE. 

*  Will  you  favor  me  with  your  company  in  the  library, 
or  shall  I  come  to  your  sitting-room?"  he  would  ask, 
when  supper  was  over. 

They  wrote  and  studied  together  as  two  friends  of  the 
same  sex  might ;  talked  freely  upon  all  subjects  suggested 
by  either — each  watchful  that  no  chance  touch  should 
wound  the  other ;  make  him  or  her  swerve  quickly  aside 
lest  the  next  step  should  be  upon  the  fresh  grave  that  lay 
ever  between  them.  In  all  their  intercourse,  Roy's  ap 
parent  ease  far  surpassed  his  wife's.  Cheerful,  cordial, 
always  kind  and  more  than  kind  in  manner  and  language, 
he  yet  comported  himself  as  if  there  were  nothing  abnor 
mal  in  this  sort  of  association ;  as  if  passion  and  regret 
were  alike  things  of  the  Past,  to  which  he  had  said  they 
need  never  asmin  recur.  No  warmer  love-name  than 

O 

"  Jessie,  dear,"  ever  passed  his  lips,  and  after  the  night  of 
the  home  bringing,  he  had  never  offered  to  kiss  or  em 
brace  her.     A  hand-clasp,  night  and  morning ;  a  smiling 
bow  and  lively  phrase,  when  h  ecame  in  to  dinner  and  tea, 
were  the  most  affectionate  courtesies  exchanged.     But  noj 
distraught  lover,  at  the  height  of  his  lunacy,  ever  studied 
his  mistress's  fantasies,  sought  to  penetrate  and  fulfil  her 
will,  as  did  this  quiet  and  courtly  husband  that  of  thej 
woman  who  had  confessed  that  her  heart  was  none  of  his  \ 
when  he  married  her.     Flowers,  fruits,  birds,  and  books 
were  lavished  upon  her ;  passed  into  her  hands  through 
other  than  his,  but  were  always  procured  by  him  in  re- 
sponse  to  some  expressed  liking  on  her  part,  or  in  accord 
ance  with  what  he  imagined  were  her  wishes  or  needs.  I 
Nor  was  his  unobtrusive  attention  to  her  health  less  con-| 
Btant.     In  the  same  friendly  style,  he  regulated  exercise, 
diet,  and  work ;  saw  that  her  habits  were  not  too  sedentary,  ; 


JESSAMINE.  30fi 

and  that  she  did  not  expose  herself  imprudently  to  cold, 
damp,  or  fatigue. 

Her  review  of  all  this  was  rapid  and  circumstantial. 

"  He  deserves  all  that  I  can  do  for  him.  False  delicacy 
nor  pride  shall  keep  me  back  from  ministering  to  the 
wants  of  one  who  is  to  me  father,  brother,  friend.  I  may, 
at  least,  wait  upon  him  as  a  hostess  might  tend  an  honored 
guest — a  housekeeper  the  master  of  the  house ! "  she  had 
decided  by  the  time  Phoebe  set  coffee,  muffins,  and  steak 
upon  the  table. 

Then  to  the  serving-girl's  increased  chagrin,  she  sat 
down,  with  Iloy's  vacant  chair  opposite  her,  and  break 
fasted  alone. 

"Not  much  of  a  breakfast,  to  be  sure  ! "  said  Phoebe, 
returning  at  the  end  of  ten  minutes,  to  find  the  room  de 
serted.  "  Half  a  muffin,  and  a  cup  of  coffee,  and  she 
clean  forgot  to  carve  the  steak  !  Looks  like  she  was  in 
love — but  that  can't  be !  " 

"  Come  in  !  "  said  the  changed  voice  that  had  wrought 
upon  Phoebe's  womanly  compassion,  as  Jessie  awaited  the 
warrant  to  enter  the  sick-room — a  faint-hearted  lingerer 
upon  the  threshold.  She  buoyed  up  her  courage  by  re 
membering  that  she  was  the  housekeeper  who  had  come 
for  the  orders  for  the  day ;  the  diffidence  she  railed  at 
inwardly,  as  ridiculous  and  uncalled  for,  had  no  visible 
effect,  except  to  heighten  her  color,  and  make  her  carry 
her  head  a  trifle  less  loftily. 

Already  Mrs.  Wyllys  had  been  heard  to  say  that, "  if  Mrs. 
Fordham  were  worth  a  million  in  her  own  right,  she  could 
not  look  more  haughty  and  indifferent  to  people  who  were 
richer  and  better  bred.  When,  as  everybody  knew,  she 
was  a  poor  preacher's  daughter  with  just  money  enough  to 


306  JESSAMINE. 

buy  her  wedding-clothes.  Though,  pity  knows,  they 
couldn't  have  cost  much !  Was  there  ever  such  awfu1 
taste,  as  not  to  lighten  her  mourning  to  suit  the  circuin 

O  *Tj 

stances  ?     Who  ever  heard  of  a  bride's  wearing  crepe  ? "' 

There  were  red  spots  upon  Hoy's  cheeks,  when  IK> 
saw  who  his  visitor  was — probably  hectic,  for  his  dc 
meaner  was  natural.  With  instant  thought  of  her  proba 
ble  embarrassment,  he  put  out  his  hand,  smilingly. 

''Ah!  Jessie,  dear!  Good-morning!  You  are  very 
good  to  visit  a  poor  fellow  in  his  affliction.  For  such  a 
throat  and  head  as  I  have  to-day  are  an  affliction.  I  seldom 
strike  my  colors  to  a  common  cold." 

"  This  seems  to  me  to  be  an  uncommon  one  ! "  Jessie  said, 
feeling  his  pulse  with  the  practised  touch  she  had  learned 
in  her  parish-visiting.  "  You  have  fever.  You  ought  to 
have  medical  advice.  Who  is  your  physician  ?  " 

"  I  have  never  had  occasion  to  call  in  one  since  I  came 
to  Hamilton.  Suppose  we  '  bide  a  bit,'  as  our  worthy 
President  says,  and  if  I  arn  not  better  in  the  course  of  an 
hour  or  two,  we  can  send  for  Dr.  Bradley.  I  had  a  try 
ing  day  yesterday.  Professor  Fairchild  is  sick,  and  I  had 
some  of  his  classes  in  addition  to  my  own.  It  is  well  this 
is  Saturday.  I  can  lie  still,  and  rest  my  throat  with  a 
clear  conscience.  Provided  " — smiling  in  her  grave  face 
— "  provided  you  do  not  let  me  trouble  you  !  " 

"  Trouble  me !  you  should  know  better  than  that ! 
But" — hesitating — "  if  you  will  let  me  say  it" — 

"  Go  on  !  there  is  nothing  you  may  not  say  to  me,"  he 
said  encouragingly. 

"  I  do  think  it  would  be  better  to  see  Dr.  Bradley,  al 
once — if  only  as  a  precautionary  measure." 

Ho  started — looked  at  her  intently. 


JESSAMINE.  307 

"  You  are  thinking  of  diphtheria  !  You  ought  not  to 
have  come  in  until  that  point  was  settled.  There  may 
be  danger  to  you.  If,  through  my  carelessness — " 

He  turned  his  face  away,  unable  or  unwilling  to  finish 
the  sentence. 

"  I  never  thought  of  that  !  "  said  Jessie,  simply.  "  If 
I  had,  I  should  have  come  all  the  same.  Whatever  may 
be  the  doctor's  opinion,  I  shall  stay  here,  and  take  care 
of  you.  It  is  my  place." 

She  rang  the  bell  for  Phoebe,  and  in  Roy's  hearing, 
ordered  her  to  go  for  the  doctor.  She  would  not  have 
her  charge  suspect  that  she  was  unduly  alarmed,  or 
believe  there  was  occasion  for  a  hasty  summons.  Then, 
she  brought  a  sunshiny  face  to  the  bedside,  and  put  a 
fresh  pillow  under  the  hot,  heavy  head. 

"  You  don't  know  what  a  famous  nurse  I  am,"  she  said, 
blithely.  "  My  father " — her  voice  sinking  with  the 
sacred  word — "  used  to  say  that  nursing  was  a  talent,  and 
that  I  was  born  with  it." 

She  set  to  work,  forthwith,  without  waiting  for  per 
mission.  Roy,  regarding  her  silently  from  his  bed, 
heartily  endorsed  Mr.  Kirke's  verdict.  Not  Eunice  her 
self  could  have  moved  more  soundlessly,  wrought  more 
efficiently  to  alleviate,  so  far  as  she  could,  the  pain  and 
discomfort  of  his  situation.  The  doctor  was  at  home,  and 
obeyed  the  call  promptly.  Roy  glanced  inquiringly  at 
Jessie  when  he  was  announced. 

"  Show  him  up ! "  was  all  she  said,  and  when  he 
followed  Phoebe  into  the  chamber,  she  met  him  with 
high-bred  ease  as  the  lady  of  the  house  ;  as  the  patient's 
wife  discussed  his  symptoms ;  heard,  with  marked  grati- 


308  JESSAMINE. 

fication,  that  her  fears  of  diphtheria  were  unfounded,  and 
received  his  directions  gratefully  and  attentively. 

"A  fine  woman,  and  a  most  devoted  wife!"  pro 
nounced  Dr.  Bradley,  at  his  luncheon-table,  that  day.  "  Let 
me  hear  no  more  gossip  about  her,  girls.  Remember !  " 

"  But,  Papa,  they  do  say  they  live  queerly ! "  ventured 
the  irrepressible  Selina.  "  Mrs.  Wyllys — " 

"  Is  a  fool !  see  that  you  don't  become  another  in  listen 
ing  to  her  twaddle !  "  was  the  peremptory  reply. 

Orrin  Wyllys,  hearing  accidentally  of  Ins  cousin's  in 
disposition,  called  at  noon,  and  was  conducted  by  Phoebe, 
by  warrant  of  the  relationship,  into  Roy's  presence.  Tho 
chamber  was  heated  usually  by  the  furnace  register,  but 
Hoy  lay  in  bed  gazing  at  the  glowing  pile  of  coals  in  the 
grate.  There  was  a  happy  ray  in  his  eyes,  spontaneity  in: 
the  gayety  with  which  he  welcomed  his  guest,  that  did  noti 
accord  with  the  latter's  preconceived  ideas  of  the  dolor 
of  a  sick-room. 

"You  look  like  an  invalid — don't  you  ?  "  was  Wyllysl 
second  remark.  "  This  is  the  cheeriest  place  I  have  been 
in  to-day.  It  is  what  the  English  call  beastly  weather,! 
out-of-doors.  I  don't  blame  anybody  for  keeping  hiaj 
bed.  I  thought  you  showed  me  the  room  across  the  hall: 
as  yours  when  you  took  me  through  the  house,  that  night, 
'  the  last  of  your  quasi  widowerhood.' " 

"  We  changed  the  arrangement  afterward/'  rejoined  - 
Hoy,  carelessly.      "  But  it  is  a  luxury — is'n't  it  ?  to  lie 
still  on  a  stormy  day,  and  stare  a  fire  like  that  out  of; 
cuunteiiance ;  especially  on  a  holiday,  when  there  are  no; 
phantoms  of  unsaid  lectures  to  torment  one's  reveries.     J 
am  enjoying  it  amazingly.     I  hadn't  the  remotest  coucep 
tiou  that  being  sick  wras  so  delightful." 


JESSAMINE.  309 

"  By  Jove  !  I  should  think  you  would  luxuriate  in  it, 
unless  you  have  less  brains  than  I  give  you  credit  for ! 
With  an  houri  for  head-nurse,  too  !  I  say  !  get  out  of  that ! 
I  can  play  the  sentimental  sufferer  as  well  as  you,  and  I 
have  a  native  bias  for  lazy  luxury,  which  you  haven't.  I 
dare  say,  you  cunning  dog !  if  all  were  told,  there  is 
some  dainty  mess  preparing  for  you  below  stairs, — a 
triumph  of  conjugal  affection  and  culinary  skill,  that 
should  be  tasted  by  none  but  an  educated  appetite.  A 
Teuton  like  yourself  would  be  as  well  suited  with  bretzels 
and  sauerkraut,  washed  down  by  a  gallon  of  lager.  I 
am  a  devout  predestinarian,  and  here  lies  the  case.  1 
have  a  canine  hunger  upon  me.  I  am  on  my  way  home 
to  luncheon.  Without,  '  the  day  is  dark  and  cold  and 
dreary.'  I  am  led  to  this  corner  of  cosiness  and  comfort 
and  fairy  fare  to  dispossess  you.  Impostor !  how  dare 
you  lie  there,  and  grin  at  my  emptiness  and  agony  !  Con 
fess  !  what  did  yon  have  for  breakfast  ?  What  do  you 
mean  to  devour  for  lunch  ?  What  do  you  hope  to  con 
sume  for  dinner  ? " 

Roy  could  never  resist  the  infection  of  this  merry 
banter,  seldom  indulged  in  by  Orrin  except  when  with 
him.  It  brought  back  their  early  days — "  when  you 
thrashed  the  big  boys  for  bullying  me  " — he  liked  to  re 
mind  the  other  when  they  slept,  played,  and  studied  to 
gether.  Orrin  had  his  foibles,  and  a  graver  fault  or  so, 
but  he  was  \na  friend,  as  he  had  told  Dr.  Baxter,  and  the 
boyish  love  for  his  gallant  senior  was  still  strong  upon 
him.  His  laugh  now  was  hearty  and  mischievous. 

"Such  a  breakfast!"  he  said.  "Gotten  up  in  strict 
conformity  with  the  injunction — '  Feed  a  cold  ' : 

"  And  you  will  have  a  fever  to  starve ! "  interjected 


310  JESSAMINE. 

Wyllys.     "That   would    be  poetical   justice !     But    g<t 
on ! " 

"  Imprimis  ;  "  resumed  Fordham, — "  a  cup  of  Turkish 
coffee, — fragrant  and  clear.  Item,  cream  toast.  Knowest 
tliou  the  taste  thereof  ?  Of  real  cream  toast  ?  light,  rich, 
smooth,  that  sootheth  the  inflamed  membrane  of  the 
throat,  and  maketh  the  diaphragm  to  rejoice  exceed 
ingly?  Item,  broiled  chicken — a  marvel  of  juicy  tender 
ness;  an  omelette  aux  fines  herbes  which  was  an  inspira 
tion"— 

"  For  Heaven's  sake !  "  Orrin  feigned  to  tear  his  hair. 
"If  you  don't  want  to  be  murdered  in  your  bed,  hold 
your  tongue ! " 

Roy  was  in  a  paroxysm  of  laughter  ;  "Wyllys,  scowling 
horribly,  had  snatched  the  poker  and  was  making  adroit 
passes  at  him,  like  the  cunning  master  of  fence  he  was; 
when  Jessie,  ignorant  of  the  liberty  Phoebe  had  taken, 
and  supposing  her  patient  to  be  alone,  entered.  She  had 
a  waiter  in  one  hand  containing  a  silver  pitcher  and 
goblet,  and  a  plate  in  the  other,  heaped  with  hothouse 
grapes.  Transfixed  with  astonishment  at  the  spectacle 
within  she  stopped  on  the  threshold.  Her  amazements 
was  not  lessened  when  Orrin,  replacing  his  weapon  on 
the  hearth,  threw  himself  into  a  chair  and  covered  his  j 
face  with  his  handkerchief. 

"  A  victim  of  covetousnees  !  "  exclaimed  Roy,  trying 
to  check  his  merriment. 

"  Of  misplaced  confidence !  "  uttered  Orrin,  gloomily, 
removing  his  cambric,  and  arising  with  a  show  of  mel- 

o  *  o 

ancholy   composure.     "  I   hope    I   have  the  pleasure  of 
seeing  you  quite  well,  Mrs.  Fordham  !    I  should  judge  so  '-. 
from  your  blooming  appearance,  but  having  just  had  a 


JESSAMINE.  3H 

notable  lesson  in  the  deceitfulness  of  outward  seeming, 
I  am  sceptical  as  to  the  evidence  of  the  senses  and  human 
reason." 

"  A  dash  of  scepticism  is  like  vaccine  virus, — a  useful 
thing,  where  there  is  fear  of  infection,"  said  Jessie,  not 
comprehending  what  had  gone  before,  and  not  choosing 
to  ask  questions  of  him. 

She  bowed  in  passing  him,  making  of  her  full  hands  a 
tacit  excuse  for  the  cavalier  salutation, — a  pretext  that 
was  transparent  to  the  person  she  intended  to  slight. 
Depositing  her  burden  upon  a  table,  she  bent  over  it, 
pretending  to  re-arrange  the  grapes  and  stir  the  contents 
of  the  pitcher,  that  her  face  might  cool  before  he  had  a 
chance  to  scrutinize  it.  His  presence  in  this  place  was 
odious  to  her.  What  had  she,  in  her  self-abasement  and 
earnest  Teachings  after  a  nobler  life  than  he  had  ever 
thought  of,  or  aspired  to,  to  do  with  his  masquerad 
ing  tricks  and  persiflage?  His  mummery,  then  and 
there,  was  more  than  heartless — it  was  an  insult  to  her, 
with  the  recollection  of  her  broken  vows  and  blighted 
life,  dogging  every  thought  of  possible  happiness.  Her 
residence  in  Hamilton,  had  no  severer  trial  than  these 
chance  encounters  with  him — her  husband's  nearest  of  kin. 

"  Nectar  and  grapes  of  Eshcol ! "  he  exclaimed  in  a 
tone  of  calm  despair,  referring  to  the  contents  of  waiter 
and  plate.  "  Yea  may  not  believe  it,  Mrs.  Fordham — in 
fact  I  don't  expect  you  to,  for  it  is  the  nature  of  your  sex 
to  trust  and  trust  again, — but  you  are  nourishing  a  ser 
pent  !  a  base  trickster '  yet  one  of  whose  want  of  origi 
nality  I  am  ashamed.  The  interesting  invalid  dodge  is 
the  stalest  and  flimsiest  known  to  the  guild  of  artful 
dodgers.  Now,  if  I  were  in  his  place — 


312  JESSAMINE. 

"  I  am  heartily  glad  yon  arc  not !  "  escaped  Jessie, 
against  her  will  to  treat  him  with  civility  for  Roy's  sake. 

Her  emphasis  of  sincerity  was  unmistakable  and 
wrought  with  various  effect  upon  her  two  auditors. 

"  So  am  I  !  "  laughed  Roy,  his  eyes  alight  with  more 
than  mirth.  "  The  grapes  you  cannot  touch,  my  grasping 
friend !  They  were  a  present  to  me,  not  an  hour  since 
from  Miss  Fanny  Provost — a  basketful,  wreathed  with 
exquisite  flowers.  She  believes  in  the  reality  of  my  in 
teresting  invalidism.  As  for  the  nectar — give  him  a  sip 
— Jessie,  please  !  It  is  not  fair  that  one  man  should 
monopolize  all  the  good  things  of  life." 

Jessie  poured  out  the  draught,  without  je?t  or  smile ; 
then  stood  back  with  a  gesture  that  bade  him  help  him 
self  if  he  would.  She  would  not  be  a  party  to  the  sport, 
Orrin  perceived. 

"  A  missish,  spiteful  show  of  disdain  ! "  he  thought, 
contemptuously.  "  She  is  hardly  worth  a  scene  !  " 

To  show  that  he  was  not  repelled  or  overawed,  he  ad 
vanced  a  step ;  took  up  the  goblet  with  a  profound  obei 
sance  ;  stared  her  in  the  eyes,  and  swallowed  a  mouthful. 
Hoy's  shout  of  exultation  and  the  uncontrollable  grimace 
of  the  dupe,  moved  Jessie  to  a  smile,  but  she  did  not 
speak. 

"Witches'  broth?"  queried  Orrin,  with  the  tragical 
gravity  of  one  who  has  made  up  his  mind  to  die  like  a 
man. 

"  So  Socrates  might  have  glared  and  growled  !  "  said 
Roy.  "  '  The  hemlock,  jailor  \ ' "  mimicking  the  other's 
tone.  "  Not  this  time,  my  dear  fellow  !  Only  sage  tea, 
sweetened  with  honey  and  stiffened  with  alum — an  in 
comparable  gargle,  according  to  such  eminent  authorities 


JESSAMINE.  313 

as  Miss  Eunice  Kirke,  her  sister,  and,  last  and  least,  Dr. 
Bradley." 

Orriu  took  up  his  hat,  undismayed  to  the  last. 

"  Sage  tea !  I  go  home  a  wiser,  if  not  a  better  man  !  I 
am  glad  to  see  there  is  nothing  the  matter  with  you,  Roy, 
while  1  lament,  as  one  of  your  blood  and  lineage,  over 
your  unblushing  hypocrisy.  Mrs.  Fordham — " 

"  You  used  to  call  her  'Jessie,'"  interrupted  Roy.  "  I 
said,  '  Cousin  Hester,'  yesterday,  to  your  bride.  Shall  I 
imitate  your  formal  address?" 

"  No !  But  my  little  wife  is  august  in  nobody's  eyes. 
Whereas,  Mrs.  Fordham — Cousin  Jessie — I  beg  your 
pardon  !  Which  shall  it  be  ? " 

His  back  was  to  Roy ;  his  meaning  gaze  upon  herself 
was,  to  her  perception,  audacious  insolence.  Not  daring 
to  resent  it  in  Roy's  hearing,  she  yet  obeyed  the  wifely 
impulse  to  seek  his  protection. 

"  That  is  for  your  cousin  to  decide.  My  name  belongs 
to  him ! "  She  said  it  proudly,  flashing  her  wide  eyes 
from  one  to  the  other,  and  moving  involuntarily  nearer 
to  Roy. 

Wyllys  caught  up  the  last  words. 

"  His  relations  should  be  yours,  if  the  partnership  be  in 
good  faith,  and  on  equal  terms." 

"  That  is  for  him  to  decide ! "  answered  she,  precisely 
as  before. 

"  Thank  you  !  I  do  not  shirk  the  responsibility,"  said 
Roy  putting  himself  in  the  breach  as  usual,  when  he  saw 
her  non-plussed  or  disturbed.  "  Another  sip  of  nectar, 
Orrin,  before  you  breast  the  storm  ? " 

A  wry  face  was  the  response,  and  the  most  fascinating 
man  in  Hamilton  bowed  himself  out.  As  he  drew  the 
14 


314  JESSAMINE. 

door  to  after  him,  lie  glanced  across  the  hall.  The  room 
Roy  had  showed  him  as  his  was  opposite,  and  the  door 
open.  There  was  tire  in  that  grate  also  ;  a  lady's  sewing- 
chair  in  front  of  it,  and  a  work-box  he  recognized  as 
Jessie's  on  the  small  table  beside  it.  On  the  back  of  the 
chair  hung  a  linen  apron,  with  pockets,  such  as  he  had 
seen  her  wear  when  engaged  in  household  tasks  in 
Dundee,  or  gardening.  He  guessed  directly  that  she  had 
stopped  in  there  to  lay  it  off  when  she  brought  up  the 
gargle.  That  this  was  her  apartment,  he  was  sure,  when 
another  step  revealed  a  bureau  with  a  ladies'  dressing- 
case  open  upon  it. 

"  Separate  apartments  ! "  he  mused,  picking  his  steps 
lightly  down  the  cottage  stairs.  "Very  unsentimental! 
Very  un-American !  decidedly  independent  and  jolly. 
But,  in  this  case,  what  is  the  meaning  of  it  ? " 

He  believed  he  had  the  clue  to  the  mystery  before  lie 
inserted  his  latch-key  in  the  door  of  his — or  his  wife's 
— house.  Jessie  Fordham  could  not  forget  that  Jessie 
Kirke  had  loved  him.  The  decent  show  of  conjugal 
felicity  he  had  witnessed  that  day  was  a  hollow  crust 
below  which  the  lava  still  surged  and  seethed.  Jessie 
was  more  faithful  to  the  one  great  passion  of  her  life, 
and  less  philosophical  than  lie  had  been  ready  to  believe. 
Her  scrupulous  avoidance  of  him  whenever  this  could 
be  done  without  awakening  suspicion  ;  the  half  bitter 
retorts  that  fell  now  and  then  from  the  lips  she  would 
train  to  the  utterance  of  conventional  lies  ;  the  indignant 
sparkle  of  the  eyes  that  answered  the  searching  appeal 
of  his — what  were  all  these  but  the  ill-concealed  tokens 
of  an  attachment  that  had  so  inwrought  itself  with  the 
iibres  of  heart  and  being  as  to  defy  her  strenuous  at- 


JESSAMINE.  315 

tempts  to  pluck  it  forth,  or  keep  it  out  of  sight.  It  waa 
a  revelation  to  him,  and  a  flattering  one — one  that  merited 
serious  consideration. 

The  devil  gat  hold  of  him  in  that  hour  ;  sifted  him  as 
wheat,  bringing  all  that  was  base  in  his  nature  upper 
most.  Heretofore,  he  had  shunned  everything  that 
could  secure  for  him  the  reputation  of  a  citisbeo.  When 
a  woman  was  once  married,  she  became  an  object  of  in 
difference  to  him.  He  accounted  the  pursuit  of  such,  a 
hazardous  and  flavorless  exhibition  of  Lothario-ism 
which  the  refined  age  should  frown  down.  He  was  not 
a  gourmand  or  libertine,  he  had  often  proudly  asserted 
to  himself.  Pleasures  of  that  stamp  he  left  to  men  of 
grosser  tastes  and  coarser  grain.  He  had  meant  to  allow 
his  cousin  all  the  domestic  peace  which  should  honestly 
fall  to  his  share,  and  to  cultivate  amicable  relations  with 
his  cousin-in-law — Roy's  wife,  who  had  given  conclusive 
evidence  of  intelligent  appreciation  of  himself. 

But  if  Jessie  were  unhappy ;  not  on  terms  with  her 
respectable  husband,  cleverly  as  both  dissembled — if 
Jessie  still  loved  him — 

"  C'est  une  autre  chose  !  "  he  muttered  between  his 
teeth,  and  complacently  knocking  the  snow  off  his  boots 
upon  the  marble  steps  of  his  "  mansion." 

His  most  heartless  propositions  always  sought  cover  in 
the  facile  foreign  tongue. 

A  writer  in  the  last  generation  defined  an  egotist  to  be 
u  One  who  would  burn  down  his  neighbor's  house  to  boil 
an  egg  for  himself." 

Orrin  Wyllys  was  an  Egotist. 


CHAPTEE  XXII. 

HE  snow-storm  waxed  furious  as  the  day  wore  on. 
Jessie  unclosed  the  blinds  of  the  windows  oppo 
site  the  bed,  that  Roy  might  see  it  in  all  its  might 
and  beauty. 

"  It  is  a  foot  deep  in  the  street,"  she  said. 
"  The  evergreens  in  the  Campus  are  loaded  ;  the  firs 
and  junipers  are  like  enormous  sugar-loaves,  and  some  of 
the  slighter  trees — cedar  and  arbor-vitee — are  bowed 
nearly  double.  There  is  one " — laughing  with  almost 
her  olden  glee — "  the  ambitious  arbor-vitae  near  the  east 
gate,  which  you  said  last  Sunday,  '  carried  too  much  sail 
aloft  for  a  gale,'  whose  crown  not  only  touches  the 
ground,  but  is  frozen  there,  while  the  roots  hold  firm. 
I  wish  you  could  see  it !  It  reminds  me  of  the  poor  lady 
who,  in  her  rage  to  be  ultra-fashionable,  had  her  hair 
dressed  very  d  la  C/dnoise, — dragged  up  so  high  and 
twisted  so  tightly  on  the  back  of  her  head,  that  she  could 
not  get  her  heels  to  the  floor.  I  do  enjoy  a  grand  old- 


JESSAMINE.  317 

fashioned  snow-storm !  None  of  the  petulant  flurries 
with  swirling  flakes,  that  spend  their  strength  in  an  hour, 
but  such  a  tempest  as  this,  that  does  not  abate  under  a 
day  and  a  night.  One  has  such  a  delicious  feeling  of 
home  comfort  and  seclusion — the  almost  certainty  that 
strangers  will  not  intermeddle  with  fireside  joys  and  in 
terests  while  the  household  is  shut  in — I  was  about  to 
say — tucked  in  snugly  by  the  great  white  veil." 

Roy  liked  to  hear  her  talk.  Her  girlish  prattle  was 
more  charming  to  him  than  the  profoundest  disquisitions 
of  scholars,  or  the  brilliant  repartee  of  literary  coteries. 
Aware  of  this,  and  that  part  of  her  nursery  duty  was  to 
amuse  the  patient ;  ignorant  that  his  heart  was  leaping 
with  a  new-born  hope,  so  sweet  and  sudden  that  his  head 
whirled  dizzily  under  its  influence,  and  the  world  took  on 
rarest  robes  of  beauty,  she  rambled  on,  her  eyes  bent 
npon  the  driving  fleeces  without.  She  had  never  been 
handsomer  than  now.  Every  trace  of  the  shock  that  had 
prostrated  nervous  forces  and  reason,  three  months  be 
fore,  was  gone  from  figure  and  countenance,  while  she 
thought  only  of  gratifying  her  companion  and  her  own 
fancy  for  a  wild,  winter  day.  Not  dreaming  of  the  im 
passioned  gaze  that  dwelt  upon  her,  she  stood  in  an 
attitude  of  careless  grace,  a  half  smile  playing  about  her 
mouth. 

"  As  she  used  to  stand  in  the  oriel,  at  sunset ! "  thought 
Roy,  with  an  unheard  sigh.  "  Is  all  that,  then, 

"  '  The  tender  grace  of  a  day  that  is  dead '  ? 

Can  it  '  never  come  back  to  me  ? ' ' 

"I  can  think  how  Old  Windbeam  would  wrap  this 
mantle  about  his  head  and  shoulders,"  resumed  Jessie. 


318  JESSAMINE. 

more  softly.  "  How  blackly  the  pines  show  against  his 
sides!  The  meadows  are  an  immense  meringue; 
Willow  Creek  is  frozen  and  invisible  under  the  snow — • 
so  tightly  locked  within  its  banks  that  its  groans  can  be 
heard,  in  the  pauses  of  the  storm,  all  the  way  to  the  Par 
sonage.  I  used  to  lie  awake  on  sharp,  frosty  nights,  and 
hear  the  rumble  of  the  imprisoned  air  running  all  the 
way  from  the  upper  bridge  down  to  the  falls.  The  holly- 
berries  on  the  tree  by  the  front  porch  peep  out  saucily 
from  the  little  woolly  piles  that  collect  upon  the  spikes 
and  leaves  ;  the  church-yard  is  level  from  fence  to  fence 
—oh,  Roy !  " 

"With  the  cry,  she  sank  down  upon  a  low  seat,  weeping 
as  from  the  depths  of  a  riven  heart. 

"  Under  the  snow !  under  the  snow ! "  she  reiterated,  in 
a  transport  of  distress.  "  I  cannot  bear  to  think  of  it !  " 

"  Come  to  me,  dear  Jessie  !  "  said  Fordham,  in  gentle 
command.  He  hardly  expected  that  she  would  obey, 
but  she  did,  groping  her  way  by  reason  of  the  blinding 
tears,  and  sobbing  unrestrainedly.  He  had  not  seen  her 
weep  before  since  the  night  of  her  arrival  at  the  cottage. 

"  Sit  here ! "  he  said,  designating  a  chair  at  his  side. 
"  I  have  something  to  say  when  you  can  hear  it.  These 
tears  will  ease  your  burdened  heart,  and  they  are  due  to 
the  memory  of  the  dear  ones  who  are  for  a  little  while 
out  of  our  sight." 

She  had  stifled  her  sobs,  but  her  head  was  still  bowed ; 
her  frame  heaved  in  the  ground-swell  of  the  passing 
storm. 

"  For  a  little  while  !  Out  of  our  sight !  "  he  repeated, 
thoughtfully — longingly.  "  We  shall  be  together — all  of 
us — very  soon.  Did  you  ever  ask  yourself  if  you  would 


JESSAMINE.  319 

be  able  to  await  the  call  of  the  Master — all  your  appointed 
time ; — ever  imagine  what  a  crushing  load  mortality  and 
its  ills  would  be  to  you,  if,  'while  in  the  body  pent,' you 
could  be  a  witness  of  the  blessedness  of  those  who  are 
'  forever  with  the  LORD  '  ?  Dear  child  !  The  Father  leads 
us  as  wisely  as  lovingly  ! " 

The  expression  of  his  religious  faith  and  experience 
never  sounded  like  cant,  even  in  the  ears  of  the  scoffer. 
It  was  a  part  of  his  life.  His  utterances  were  fearless, 
simple,  fervent,  enforcing  respect  for  their  author,  although 
the  listener  might  not  be  in  sympathy  with  their  spirit. 
Jessie  ceased  to  weep  or  sigh  while  he  talked ;  presently 
showed  her  tear-stained  face,  tremulous  with  sad  smiles, 
and  laid  her  hand  timidly  upon  his. 

"  Thank  you  !  Every  word  is  a  drop  of  comfort.  But 
so  much  talking  is  bad  for  your  throat,  ana  the  fever  will 
return  if  you  are  agitated.  It  was  childish  and  selfish  in 
me  to  give  way  as  I  did.  But,"  her  lip  quivering  anew 
— "  it  came  in  upon  me  like  a  flood  !  the  happy  by-gone 
hours  and  the  dear  old  manse  !  Just  how  it  all  looked,  as 
I  had  seen  it,  a  hundred  times  in  the  winter  weather  I  al 
ways  loved.  And  the  changes — and  where  they  are 
now !  " 

"  I  ought  to  thank  you  for  allowing  me  to  sorrow  with 
and  try  to  console  you.  Don't  be  afraid  of  me,  dear  ! 
afraid  to  bring  your  trials,  with  your  pleasures,  to  your 
friend.  If  left  to  yourself,  just  now, — if  I  had  not  called 
you  to  me,  you  would  have  rushed  away  to  hide  your 
tears  in  your  own  room.  You  never  wound  me  except 
when  you  act  and  look  as  if  you  stood  in  dread  of  my  dis 
pleasure  or  criticism.  Won't  you  be  candid  and  tell  me 
why  this  is  so  ?  Am  I  a  very  cruel  taskmaster  ?  Do  you 


320  JESSAMINE. 

not  believe  me  when  I  say  that  I  desire  no  other  earthly 
good  as  I  do  to  make  you  contented — happy,  if  that 
can  be." 

"  I  do  believe  it !  I  should  be  slow  to  see  and  to  be 
convinced  if  I  did  not ! "  began  Jessie,  the  truth  trembling 
upon  her  tongue.  The  temptation  to  unbosom  herself 
without  fear  and  reserve  was  very  strong.  "  But  I  feel 
myself  to  be  unworthy  of  your  regard,  and  the  goodness 
you  show  me.  And  you  are  so  wise  and  discreet — so  self- 
contained — 

A  pang  changed  his  features.  He  stirred  restlessly, 
biting  his  lip  to  keep  back  a  repetition  of  the  word  "  self- 
contained  ! "  that  would  have  been  a  groan. 

"  You  are  suffering !  "  said  Jessie,  anxiously.  "  I  have 
made  you  worse !  " 

"  Xo  ;  a  passing  pain — that  is  all !  You  always  make 
me  better.  What  should  I  have  done  without  you,  to-day, 
my  kind  nurse  ?  " 

A  perverse  fit,  one  of  her  spoiled-child  freaks,  seized 
Jessie. 

"  Phoebe  would  have  taken  excellent  care  of  you ! " 
she  said,  demurely,  casting  down  her  eyes  to  hide  the 
gleam  of  mischief  darting  up  to  the  surface.  "She 
wanted  to  make  brown  gravy  soup,  and  roast  a  fat  duck 
for  your  dinner,  with  mince-pie — '  to  leave  a  nice  taste  in 
his  mouth,  ma'am.'  And  she  persists  in  the  belief  that  a 
gargle  of  red-pepper  tea,  with  mustard-draughts  upon  your 
feet,  and  a  cayenne  poultice  about  your  throat  '  would 
pull  you  through,'  when  doctor's  stuffs  fail.  As  to  so 
ciety,  your  cousin,  or,  maybe,  Dr.  Baxter  would  have 
come  in  to  cheer  you  up.  What  a  godsend  a  big  linen 
iheet  would  be  to  the  good  President,  on  a  day  like  this* 


JESSAMINE.  321 

with  a  listener  who   is  liors  du  combat  with   a  hoarse 
cold  !  " 

"  I  have  not  needed  to  be  cheered  up,  since  I  saw  the 
first  glimpse  of  your  face,  this  morning  !  "  answered  Hoy, 
unguardedly.  Conscious  that  he  was  trenching  upon  for 
bidden  ground,  he  diverted  the  conversation.  "What  a 
flow  of  spirits  Orrin  has  !  I  did  hurt  my  throat  laughing 
at  his  tragico-comico  envy  of  my  surroundings.  I  wish 
he  bad  a  home,  one  like  this,  if  it  were  shared  by  a  con 
genial  companion,  a  woman  who  was  more  nearly  his 
equal,  mentally  and  morally,  than  the  one  he  has  chosen, 
lie  would  be  much  happier  than  he  can  hope  to  be  in  the 
splendid  pile  he  calls  by  that  name." 

"  lie  seems  perfectly  satisfied  with  wife  and  house,"  re 
turned  Jessie,  dryly.  "  And  the  marriage  was  certainly 
one  of  preference  on  Miss  Sanford's  part.  Not  that  I 
admire  or  like  her,  and  I  know  her  better  than  yon  do. 
But  I  am  persuaded  that  we  waste  our  pity  when  we  ex 
pend  it  on  either  of  them." 

They  chatted,  then,  of  various  matters  in  the  familiar 
style  in  which  their  conversations  were  generally  carried 
on,  until  the  day  closing  in  about  them,  the  fire  spread  a 
mellow  radiance  over  the  area  immediately  around  it : 
the  white  bed  and  the  noble  head  laid  high  on  the  pil 
lows  ;  upon  Jessie's  earnest  face  and  crown  of  raven  hair. 
It  was  the  hour  and  the  scene  for  the  confidential  talk  of 
husband  and  wife;  the  outpouring  of  true  sonl  to  true ; 
the  only  unrestrained  heart-communion  this  side  the 
Land  where  subterfuge  and  disguise  are  unknown  ;  speech 
as  far  more  excellent  and  satisfying  than  the  language  of 
unwedded  lovers  as  the  perfume  from  the  unfolded  lilj 
surpasses  that  which  steals  from  the  bud. 
14* 


322  JESSAMINE. 

Between  these  two,  love  was  neither  named  nor  hinted 
at.  The  wife's  hands  lay  crossed  upon  her  knees,  and  the 
husband  did  not  offer  to  hold  or  touch  them,  or  stroke 
the  beautiful  hair  with  which  the  betrothed  had  toyed 
unrebuked.  It  was  an  anomalous  intimacy,  the  restraints 
and  courtesies  of  which  would  have  been  laughed  at  as 
affectations,  if  the  story  of  them  were  not  totally  discred 
ited  by  the  world  outside  "  the  great  white  veil "  that 
shut  them  into  their  home, — theirs  in  name  and  in  fact. 

Jessie  got  up,  at  length,  stepping  over  the  carpet  with 
out  rustle  or  jar,  "  the  poetry  of  motion,"  thought  the 
looker-on,  and  laid  more  coals  upon  the  fiery  mass  in  the 
grate.  Many- colored  flames  shot  up  through  and  darted, 
like  living  serpents,  along  the  pile  ;  the  low  crackling 
and  hissing  of  the  igniting  lumps  awoke  a  cricket  in  the 
chimney-corner.  Jessie,  kneeling  on  the  rug,  glanced 
over  her  shoulder,  on  hearing  the  cheery  chirp,  and 
smiled  at  Roy. 

"  You  don't  treat  the  crickets  on  your  hearth  as  Gruff- 
and  Tackleton  boasted  that  he  did — '  crunch  'em,  sir  ! ' 
I  like  to  hear  the  little  busybodies — don't  you  ? " 

Without  rising,  when  she  had  seemed  to  hearken  for  a 
while,  she  began  to  sing.  Roy  had  not  heard  a  note  from 
her,  even  in  church,  since  their  marriage,  and  he  held  his 
breath,  lay  motionless,  lest  she  should  awaken  from  her 
reverie.  It  was  an  old  ballad  she  was  crooning — half 
Scotch,  and  with  a  thought  of  pathos  in  the  melody,  al 
though  the  words  were  not  plaintive. 

"  'Tis  rare  to  see  the  morning  bleeze, 
Like  a  bonfire,  frae  the  sea ; 
'Tis  fair  to  see  the  burnie  kiss 
The  lip  o'  the  flowery  lea. 


JESSAMINE.  323 

And  fine  it  is  on  green  hillside 
Where  hums  the  bonnie  bee, 
But  rarer,  fairer,  finer  far, 
Is  the  Ingleside  to  me." 

A  light  roseate  film  hid  her  from  Roy's  eyes.  Tlio 
Ingleside,  where  she  now  knelt !  his  and  hers !  did  she 
really  love  it  so  well  as  not  to  pine  for  the  haunts  of  her 
girlhood  ?  And  what  had  pressed  that  cry  from  her  that 
was  still  echoing  through  his  heart-chambers  ?  the  appeal 
that  would  have  meant  in  a  loving  wife  uncontrollable 
yearning  for  the  sympathy  of  him  who  best  knew  her 
needs  and  her  sorrows  ? 

"  O,  Roy ! "  she  had  said,  hands  outstretched  as  if  to 
fasten  upon  his  for  support  in  the  deep  waters.  It  im 
ported  more — a  million  times  more,  that  childlike  wail — 
to  him  than  all  she  had  afterward  expressed  of  gratitude 
and  esteem.  In  that  hour,  consecrate  forever  by  what  his 
musings  brought  forth,  he  resolved  to  woo  and  win  a 
second  time  the  only  woman  he  had  ever  loved;  who  he 
had  believed  was  lost  to  him  for  all  time,  chained  as  she 
was  to  his  side,  forced  into  a  relation  she  abhorred  by 
vows  her  dying  father  and  he — impatient,  ruthless  lover ! 
— had  put  into  her  mouth.  He  would  be  very  wary,  very 
patient,  but  love  like  his  must  conquer  in  the  end. 
Doubts  might  oppose  him  in  the  broad  light  of  day  and 
common-sense,  but  he  would  not  be  turned  aside.  lie 
did  not  underrate  the  difficulties  that  lay  in  the  way  of 
this  novel  wooing.  Jessie  was  no  longer  the  fresh-heart 
ed,  impetuous  girl  who  had  laid  her  hand  confidingly  in 
his  (his  palm  thrilled  now  in  the  recollection  !)  as  he  sat 
by  her  in  the  oriel-window,  the  shadows  of  the  tossing 
jessamine-bells — "  joy-bells,"  he  called  them — cast  upon 


324  JESSAMINE. 

her  white  dress  and  the  carpet  by  the  April  sunshine , 
the  dewiness  and  scents  of  the  Spring  morning  in  the  air; 
the  "  light  that  was  never  on  land  and  sea  "  glorifying  thci 
eyes  uplifted  to  his. 

Faulty,  but  frank,  with  a  mind  stored  with  crude 
riches,  a  heart  whose  capacity  for  love  and  Love's  sacri 
fices  even  he  had  divined  rather  than  discovered — she  had 
been  easily  won,  though  not  lightly  sought.  Now,  the 
luxuriant  womanliness,  the  growth  of  which  he  marked 
from  day  to  day  in  her  physique,  had  not  kept  pace  with 
the  chastened  development  of  her  inner  nature.  If  he 
had  said  in  that  early  stage  of  "  Love's  Young  Dream  "- 
"  She  is  like  no  other  girl  I  ever  met ! "  she  was  now  a 
veritable  unique— a  gem  a  monarch  might  be  proud  to 
uet  in  his  diadem. 

For  all  that,  he  would  win  her!  Should  she  arise 
.'from  her  lowly  place  by  the  ingle,  and  without  a  word  of 
explanation  or  excuse  for  what  was  past,  again  give  him 
her  hand,  saying  merely,  "  I  love  you  !  "  he  would  let  all 
that  had  been  enigmatical  in  their  intercourse  go  from 
his  remembrance  at  once  and  entirely ;  would  trust  her 
ivith  his  honor  and  affections,  above  all  and  through  all 

o 

Jiat  might  stagger  his  faith  in  another.  Was  his  a  piti 
ful,  cringing  spirit  ?  Was  it  a  high  or  a  mean  type  of 
human  love  that  made  him,  possessing  his  tried  soul  in 
more  abundant  patience,  say  in  the  prospect  of  the  tedi 
ous  and  cautious,  it  might  be  the  arduous,  approach  to 
the  goal  of  his  desires,  that  must  be  his,  if  he  would  make 
success  a  certainty  ; — 

"  An  I  they  seemed  unto  him  but  a  few  days  for  the  lovt 
he  had  to  her  !  " 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

JRS.  ORRIN  WYLLYS  had  "run  in  very  sociably" 
to  chat  for  an  hour  with  her  dear  cousin,  Mrs. 
Fordhara. 

"  Orrin  brought  me  to  the  door,"  she  said, 
divesting  herself  of  her  fur  cloak,  and  untying 
the  coquettish  hood  that  half  covered  her  head.  "  I 
knew  Mr.  Fordhara  would  be  at  the  meeting  in  the  Town 
Hall.  Orrin  promised  to  meet  him  there.  He  can't  bear 
for  me  to  be  alone,  so  he  offered  to  leave  me  to  a  com 
fortable  dish  of  gossip  with  you  while  he  attended  to  the 
interests  of  the  '  dear  people.'  Of  course,  it  is  very  grat 
ifying  to  have  one's  husband  so  popular,  but  I  often  tell 
Orrin  that  I  don't  see  one-tenth  nor  one-hundredth  part 
as  much  of  him  as  I  ought  to.  I  don't  believe  there  is 
another  man  in  the  United  States  who  is  so  run  after. 
Not  that  this  surprises  me,"  tittering  and  trying  to  blush. 
"  I,  of  all  people  alive,  ought  to  have  most  charity  with 
Buch  devotion.  It  is  a  consolation  to  be  assured  that  he 


326  JESSAMINE. 

regrets  these  numerous  draughts  upon  hib  time  as  much 
as  I  do,  and  I  am  not  disposed  to  be  jealous.  I  do  think 
mutual  confidence  is  just  the  sweetest  thing  in  the  world, 
Between  married  lovers,  I  mean.  What  are  you  so  busy 
about?" 

Jessie's  work-basket  was  heaped  with  calico  and  flannel. 

"  Making  clothes  for  some  poor  children,"  she  answered. 
"  If  you  will  excuse  me,  I  will  go  on  with  my  work,  as 
the  garments  are  sadly  needed." 

"  Certainly !  I  shall  be  more  at  my  ease  if  you  do  not 
seem  to  mind  my  being  here.  You  are  the  most  indus 
trious  woman  I  know.  It  positively  fatigues  one  to  watch 
you.  I  suppose,  though,  there  is  everything  in  being 
trained  to  such  habits  from  childhood.  Now,  I  haven't 
a  thing  to  do  from  morning  to  night,  which  is  lucky,  for 
I  have  always  been  so  carefully  waited  upon  from  my 
cradle  up  to  the  present  hour,  when  my  darling  husband 
will  hardly  let  me  put  my  foot  to  the  ground  without  his 
assistance.  You  can't  imagine  how  auasjpetits  soins  he  is 
in  the  retirement  of  our  sweet,  sweet  home  !  True,  the 
house  is  large,  preposterously  large — as  I  told  my  dear, 
indulgent  father  when  he  bought  it.  And  as  Orrin  is 
fond  of  style,  and  I  have  always  been  used  to  it,  we  keep 
up  a  ridiculous  establishment  when  one  considers  the  size 
of  the  family.  Now,  I  dare  say,  you  keep  but  two  or 
three  women-servants,  and  maybe  no  man  at  all,  as  you 
have  no  carriage  of  your  own  ?  " 

"  Phoabe  is  our  only  servant,"  said  Jessie,  unperturbed 
at  having  to  state  the  mortifying  fact  with  which  Mrs 
Willys  was  already  acquainted. 

"  Is  it  possible  !  "  looking  curiously  about  her  through 
her  gold  eye-glass.  "  Yet  everything  about  yoir  little 


JESSAMINE.  327 

place  is  as  neat  as  a  pin.  What  a  valuable  creature  she 
must  be!  I  declare  I  must  tell  Orrin  that!  'Five  ser 
vants  to  wait  upon  two  people,  my  love ! ;  I  said  to  him 
this  very  evening.  '  It  is  frightful  extravagance  ! '  But 
he  insists  that  I  shall  be  relieved  from  all  drudgery, 
knowing  how  delicately  I  have  been  reared.  If  I  were 
fond  of  work,  I  should  be  puzzled  how  to  employ  myself 
at  the  hours  when  there  are  no  visitors.  When  I  am 
ennuyee  in  Orrin's  absence,  I  have  only  to  run  across  the 
street  to  my  uncle's,  Judge  Provost's,  to  find  plenty  of 
society.  What  a  houseful  of  children  they  have  !  I  told 
Orrin  yesterday,  that  it  was  lucky  he  never  fancied 
Jeannie  Provost  (who,  to  whisper  a  secret,  was  just  per 
fectly  crazy  after  him  f)  My  uncle  has  a  large  fortune, 
but  it  will  be  cut  up  by  the  rule  of  long  division  at  his 
death.  How  fast  you  sew !  Your  proteges  are  some  of 
your  Dundee  parishioners,  I  suppose  ? "  condescendingly 
to  the  woman  of  low  estate. 

"  No.  The  few  poor  there  are  so  well  cared  for  by 
their  neighbors  as  not  to  require  my  help.  This  is  work 
allotted  me  by  the  Managers  of  the  Hamilton  Charitable 
Society.  There  is  much  suffering  here  this  winter." 

"Ah!"  indifferently.  "Orrin  doesn't  approve  of  my 
attending  these  Women's  Societies.  He  says  it  would 
unsex  me — that  he  so  admires  my  thorough  womanliness  ! 
And,  after  all,  when  people  can  give  money  to  the  col 
lectors  and  visitors  and  agents,  and  all  that  kind  of  nui 
sance,  there  is  no  use  in  doing  anything  else.  The  de 
mands  upon  us  in  the  name  of  charity,  are  just  perfectly 
awful  !  I  said  to  Orrin — dear,  generous  soul !  this  very 
morning — '  My  sweet  love,  you  must  positively  bear  in 
mind  that  we  are  not  quite  made  of  money ! ' ' 


328  JESSAMINE. 

A  photograph  upon  a  handsome  easel  attracted  her  at 
tention,  and  the  eye-glass  was  on  duty. 

"  Is  that  a  fancy  picture,  or  a  portrait  ? " 

"  It  is  a  likeness  of  my  sister." 

"  Indeed !  Is  she  single  or  married  ?  What  is  her 
name  ? " 

"  Her  name  is  Eunice  Kirke." 

"Ah  1  a  spinster!  She  is  a  very  nice-looking  person  ! 
As  you  were  saying,  the  winter  is  severe  !  But  the  skat 
ing  and  sleighing  are  superb  !  I  was  on  the  ice  several 
times  last  week  with  Orrin.  He's  such  a  splendid 
skater  :  I  am  so  proud  to  be  seen  with  him  !  I  suppose 
you  must  have  heard  how  much  attention  we  attract 
whenever  we  appear  ?  " 

"  I  see  very  little  of  general  society,  this  winter,"  Jes 
sie  politely  evaded  the  inquiry.  "  I  am  not  in  the  way 
of  hearing  about  gay  assemblies  of  any  kind." 

"  Oh,  yes !  I  forgot  you  were  wearing  black.  But  you 
shouldn't  bury  yourself  too  much,  even  to  keep  your 
house  in  this  lovely  order.  I  have  seen  you  out  driving 
several  times  with  Mrs.  Baxter,  and  said  to  Orrin  what  a 
convenience  you  must  find  her  carriage.  And  while  I 
think  of  it,  do  let  me  call  by  for  you  some  day  in  the 
sleigh!  Orrin  and  I  have  spoken  of  doing  it,  scores  of 
times,  but  to  confess  the  truth,  we  are  just  a  little  selfish  ! 
We  so  enjoy  riding  together,  that  we  neglect  our  friends. 
Before  I  married  Orrin,  some  officious  friends  advised 
me  not  to  expect  much  attention  from  him  after  the 
wedding,  '  because  he  was  a  ladies'  man.'  Such  were 
notoriously  indifferent  to  their  wives'  comfort,  I  was  in 
formed.  Even  my  cousin — the  Attorney-general's  lady 
—said  to  me,  'My  dear  Hester!  Mr.  Wyllys  is  charming 


JESSAMINE.  329 

— but  I  am  afraid  lie  ia  too  charming  to  take  kindly  to 
domesticity  ! '  I  nearly  cried  myself  sick  !  But  I  turned 
a  deaf  ear  to  the  croakers,  and  obeyed  the  dictates  of  my 
own  heart.  Now,  I  am  reaping  the  reward  of  my  wise 
action.  It  may  sound  boastful  in  me,  but  I  don't  be 
lieve  my  Orrin  has  his  equal  as  a  husband  in  the  uni 
verse.  His  devotion  to  me  is  miraculous.  I  understand 
that  we  have  the  reputation  of  being  the  most  love-sick 
couple  in  town,  but  I  don't  care  !  Let  those  that  laugh 
win — and  I  have  won  !  The  women  try  to  ridicule  us 
because  they  are  envious.  It  is  not  for  me  to  say  why 
the  men  do  it !  "  A  giggle  and  a  violent  sidewise  toss  of 
the  head.  "  The  worst  they  can  say  is,  that  we  are  more 
in  love  with  one  another  now,  than  we  were  before  our 
marriage.  It  is  true,  and  we  glory  in  it.  My  only  fear 
is,  that  my  darling  husband  may  become  too  domestic  in 
his  perfect  content  with  his  wife  and  his  home.  It  is 
very  sweet  and  beautiful  in  him,  but  I  often  force  him 
to  go  abroad,  both  with,  and  without  me,  to  counteract 
this  tendency." 

Jessie  stitched  on  diligently,  with  a  half  smile  the  visi 
tor  mistook  for  pleased  interest  in  her  theme,  when  it 
was  in  reality,  made  up  of  amusement  and  contempt. 
She  could  have  had  no  surer  evidence  of  how  completely 
she  had  outgrown  girlish  foibles  and  unworthy  rivalries  ; 
how  firmly  established  she  was  upon  her  new  plane  of 
principle,  reasoning,  and  views,  than  the  equanimity 
with  which  she  suffered  Hester's  patronage  and  open  ex 
ultation  over  herself.  Her  contemptuous  amusement  in 
retrospection,  embraced  the  would-be  belle,  who,  although 
"  nothing  but  a  poor  minister's  daughter,"  had  vied  with 
the  heiress  in  style  and  popularity.  She  even  had  a 


330  JESSAMINE. 

passing  thought  of  ridicule  for  the  rcymory  ol  the  dark 
green  walking  dress,  trimmed  with  fur,  and  the  sweeping 
green  plume.  Such  paltry  contests  as  they  looked  to  her 
now !  such  an  insignificant  opponent  was  this  brainless, 
conceited  creature  before  her  ! 

Her  boasting  Mrs.  Fordham  valued  at  its  true  worth. 
Through  Mrs.  Baxter  she  had  learned  that  the  exactions, 
caressings,  and  braggadocio  of  "Wyllys's  bride  made  him 
the  laughing  stock  of  his  associates.  Her  fortune  was 
settled  upon  herself  in  terms  that  put  it  beyond  his  man 
agement,  and  his  graceful  insouciance  had  occasionally 
proved  insufficient  to  cover  his  chagrin  at  her  unsparing 
use  of  the  power  this  arrangement  gave  her.  Elated  to 
rapture  at  her  success  in  securing  him,  she  paraded  their 
mutual  affection  ad  nauseam  in  whatever  company  they 
entered ;  people  said,  dragged  him  abroad  against  his 
will  in  order  to  do  this.  In  the  large  circle  of  her  hus 
band's  acquaintances,  she  was  received  with  a  degree  of 
distinction,  she  chose  to  believe  was  homage  to  her 
charms  and  worth,  and  superadded  to  the  egregious  van 
ity  and  pretension  of  the  heiress,  her  complacency  in  the 
dignity  of  the  married  woman  was  ludicrous  beyond  de 
scription. 

She  was  arrayed  to-night  in  a  blue  Irish  poplin,  bor 
dered  on  overskirt,  sleeves  and  basque  with  ermine  ;  there 
were  diamonds  in  her  ears,  upon  her  fingers,  and  clustered 
in  her  brooch,  and  artificial  flowers  in  her  hair. 

"How  I  envy  you  for  the  easy  time  you  have  with  your 
dress;"  she  remarked,  incidentally  to  Jessie.  "That  is 
the  only  advantage  one  has  in  wearing  mourning.  You 
cannot  imagine  what  a  deal  of  time  and  labor  I  must  ex 
pend  upon  my  toilette.  Orrin  is  even  harder  to  please  in 


JESSAMINE.  331 

these  matters  than  I  am.  If  he  had  his  way  I  should 
always  be  in  full  dress." 

Her  voice  had  always  upon  Jessie  a  peculiar  and  un 
pleasant  effect,  akin  to  that  produced  by  the  touch  of 
some  viscid  substance.  But  she  was  Mrs.  Orrin  "Wyllys. 
This  was  the  end  of  his  "  dream  of  fair  women  ! "  to  be 
come  the  petted  henchman  of  a  homely,  selfish,  arbitrary, 
silly,  and  wealthy  wife. 

"How  can  you  endure  to  touch  that  coarse  work?" 
was  her  next  essay,  with  a  gesture  of  her  be-ringcd  fingers 
like  filliping  off  an  obnoxious  insect.  "  Why,  that  is  a 
flannel  petticoat — isn't  it  ? " 

"Yes." 

"  Does  Mr.  Fordham  ever  catch  you  at  that  sort  of 
sewing  ? " 

"  Sometimes." 

Jessie  had  her  quiet  xittle  smile  of  satisfaction  at  the 
thought  of  the  delightful  evenings  she  had  had  since  this 
task  was  commenced,  for  Roy  read  aloud  to  her  while  she 
sewed. 

"  I  am  astonished  he  tolerates  it !  Orrin  is  so  fastidi 
ous  ;  has  such  an  exalted  appreciation  of  my  refinement, 
that  I  wouldn't  dare  let  him  see  me  handle  such  a  gar 
ment.  I  think  the  more  careful  we  are  to  maintain 
a  certain  degree  of  modest  reserve  in  the  presence 
of  our  husbands,  the  more  we  shrink  from  all  things 
common  and  unclean,  the  better  they  will  love  us.  I 
dread  lowering  myself  to  the  level  of  a  commonplace 
woman  in  my  beloved  Orrin's  eyes ;  would  keep  myself 
his  divinity  while  I  can.  But  1  know  I  am  an  exception 
in  this  respect,  that  with  most  married  couples,  disen- 
chantme  it  comes  with  the  wane  of  the  honeymoon." 


332  JESSAMINS. 

Jessie  understood  the  thrust  conveyed  in  the  borrowed 
phrases,  enunciated  with  monkey -like  gravity.  She  had 
had  others  like  it  from  the  same  source.  The  narrow  soul , 
and  heart  of  the  speaker  had  never  let  her  forgive  Mrs. 
Fordham  for  having  once  played  in  her  sight  the  part  of: 
chief  favorite  upon  Orrin's  list  of  belles.  He  had  glossed 
over  the  circumstance  of  his  pointed  attentions  to  the 
country  girl,  by  representing  her  relations  to  his  cousin ; 
had  sworn  sounding  oaths,  more  loud  than  deep,  that  he 
had  never  whispered  to  her  of  love — and  his  wife  listened 
and  disbelieved.  At  any  rate,  the  Hamilton  wiseacres 
gave  the  poorer  woman  the  credit  of  the  conquest,  and 
the  knowledge  of  this  was  the  Banquo  at  Hester's  corona 
tion-feast. 

"  But  you  and  our  good  cousin  Roy  are  such  awfully 
practical  people !  "  ran  on  the  chatterer.  "  I  have  told 
Orrin  twenty  times  that  I  didn't  believe  your  husband 
kissed  you  once  a  week.  I  should  be  disconsolate  if  mine 
did  not  kiss  me  whenever  he  went  out  and  came  in — not 
to  mention  dozens  of  times  besides.  However,  aa  my 
blessed,  charitable  old  love  says,  people  differ  wonderfully 
in  temperament.  Now,  we  are  so  ardent ! " 

"  As  you  say,  diversity  of  temperament  accounts  for 
much  that  seems  singular  in  action,"  remarked  Jensie,  com 
posedly. 

There  was  a  strange  aching  at  her  heart  as  she  said  it. 
Looking  at  the  flat,  flaccid  visage  of  her  interlocutor,  she 
would  have  declared  it  to  be  impossible  for  her  to  wound 
her  by  this  inane  twaddle,  peppered  with  weak  spite. 
Yet  she  had  set  a  nerve  ajar. 

"  If  I  had  a  husband — "  the  "  practical "  woman  was 
saying  to  herself — "  his  kisses  would  be  too  dear  and 


JESSAMINE.  333 

sacred  to  be  counted  over  and  boasted  of  to  others.     If  I 
had  a  husband  !     Ileaven  help  me!     I  have  none  !  " 

The  china-blue  eyes  of  the  shallow  pate  over  there 
would  have  glittered  with  malicious  delight  in  her  own 
shrewdness,  had  she  guessed  how  near  to  the  truth  was 
her  description  of  the  external  intercourse  of  those  whom 
the  church  and  the  world  named  as  one. 

"It  is  awfully  nice  to  be  married!"  she  rattled  on, 
growing  more  and  more  confidential.  "  There  is  such  solid 
comfort  in  the  reflection  that  your  destiny  is  accomplished. 
No  more  need  for  anxiety  and  setting  one's  cap,  and  all 
that.  I  shall  never  forget  the  delicious  peace  that  filled 
my  whole  soul  when  I  first  heard  myself  called  '  Mrs. 
Wyllys ! '  when  I  appreciated  that  the  irrevocable  step 
was  taken.  Still,  it  seems  very  sudden.  It  is  just  a  year 
since  I  heard  Orrin  spoken  of  as  your  beau — a  funny 
mistake,  as  you  know,  but  I  didn't  then.  Oh !  how  angry 
I  was  !  for  I  had  determined,  even  then,  that  he  should 
fall  in  love  with  me.  Maybe  you  recollect  the  time  ?  It 
was  one  day  when  we  were  playing  billiards  at  Judge 
Provost's,  and  somebody — Fanny,  I  believe — said  he  was 
your  teacher.  Afterward,  the  girls  began  talking  about 
Mr.  Fordham's  attentions  to  another  young  lady — never 
supposing  that  he  was  engaged  to  you  all  the  time.  By 
the  way — did  I  ever  tell  you  that  my  dear,  upright,  kind- 
hearted  husband  charged  me  to  mention  to  you  that  that 
was  all  a  foolish  mistake  ? " 

"  What  was  a  mistake  ?  " 

Jessie  looked  up,  arresting  the  swift,  even  motion  of 
her  fingers. 

"  Why,  the  story  of  Mr.  Fordham's  engagement  to 
Maria  Dunn,  a  young  lady  of  our  city." 


334  JESSAMINE. 

"  I  recollect  that  yen  stated  it  as  a  fact,"  returned  Jesrl 
Bie,  pointedly.     "  She  was  an  intimate  friend  of  yours,  you 
said,  and  that  you  had  the  tale  directly  from  her.     You 
said,  moreover,  that  Mr.  Fordham  had  called  upon  you,  ir- 
company  with  her." 

Hester's  thin  skin  was  mottled  with  mulberry. 

"  Well,  yes  !  we  were  a  good  deal  together,  at  one  time, 
and  she  certainly  did  lead  me  to  believe  that  Mr.  Ford 
ham  was  in  love  with  her — now  I  come  to  think  of  it.  I 
have  forgotten  the  exact  circumstances,  but  there  was 
some  talk  about  it  and  she  did  all  she  could  to  excite 
sympathy,  until  she  took  a  fancy  to  marry  another  man. 
A  miserably  poor  match  she  made — a  clerk  upon  a  salary 
of  two  thousand  dollars !  and  her  father  with  seven  chil 
dren  !  Then,  she  vowed  there  had  never  been  any 
attachment  between  herself  and  Mr.  Fordham.  She  was 
related  to  the  friends  he  was  visiting,  and  he  happened  to 
act  as  her  escort  once  or  twice.  For  my  part,  I  am  sure 
he  never  gave  her  reason  to  think  that  he  cared  a  rush  for 
her.  She  was  one  of  those  girls  who  are  always  running 
after  the  men,  and  fancy  that  every  gentleman  who  looks 
at  them  is  going  to  propose  on  the  spot.  If  there  is  one^ 
creature  whom  I  despise  above  all  others,  it  is  a  woman 
who  thinks  marriage  the  chief  end  of  her  existence.  I 
really  thought  I  had  spoken  to  you  about  this,  long  ago. 
Dear  Orrin  told  me  to  do  it,  just  after  we  were  married. 
He  said  you  might  allude  to  the  affair  in  talking  with  Mr. 
Fordham,  and  I  might  be  drawn  into  a  libel-suit  or  fuss 
of  some  kind.  I  can't  see  how  I  came  to  forget  it — I 

o 

am  usually  so  particular  in  following  his  advice  !  " 

Jessie  gathered  nothing  intelligible  from  the  monologue 
after  this.     The  gleam  of  her  needle  was  a  dull  spark  be- 


JEbSAMTNE.  335 

fore  her  eyes,  and  the  viscid  drawl  had  some  vague  asso 
ciation  in  her  mind  with  the  slimy  trail  of  a  snake. 
Once,  the  slender  steel  broke  between  her  fingers.  Twice 
she  understood,  from  the  other's  interrogative  intonation 
that  she  waited  a  reply,  and  she  supplied  one  at  random. 

A  sharp  thought  aroused  her  at  last,  to  put  a  question 
in  her  turn. 

"  You  say  Mr.  Wyllys  told  you  to  correct  the  unfavor 
able  impression  he  fancied  this  story  might  have  pro 
duced  upon  my  mind.  When  did  he  first  refer  to  the  sub 
ject?" 

"  O,  for  that  matter,  he  asked  me  about  it  before  we 
were  engaged.  And,  wasn't  I  properly  frightened  when 
I  found  you  had  told  tales  out  of  school  ?  Of  course,  I 
made  as  light  of  it  as  possible,  and  when  he  paid  his  first 

visit  to  B ,  I  set  it  all  straight  by  telling  him  I  was 

certain  it  was  a  fabrication.  I  had  had  reasons  for  doubt 
ing  Maria's  veracity  and  honor  in  other  respects.  Would 
you  believe  it?  The  girl  actually  tried  to  attract  Orrin's 
notice,  after  she  knew  he  was  engaged  to  ME  !  " 

Jessie  had  no  means  of  determining  how  much,  or  how 
little  truth  there  was  in  this  statement.  It  mattered  noth 
ing  to  her  who  had  been  the  more  culpable  in  the  decep 
tion  practised  upon  her — the  intriguing  husband,  or  the 
foolish  wife.  It  was  probable  both  had  prevaricated 
grossly  and  maliciously.  It  was  certain  that  they  had 
together  wrought  her  great  and  irreparable  harm.  The 
long-delayed  explanation  w^as  worse  than  useless.  The 
one  maligned  by  the  mischievous  gossip  had  been  cast  off, 
and  alienated.  She  should  never  have  the  courage  to 
confess  the  whole  wrong  to  him  now. 

Unless — 


CHAPTEE  XXIV. 

_7 

|  HEN  Roy  returned  his  cousin  was  with  him. 

Mrs.  "Wyllys  launched  herself  into  the  hall  at 
sound  of  their  voices,  her  bright  azure  train  '  wide 
dispread ; '  her  arms  extended  like  the  yards  of  a 
ship. 

"  My  darling ! "  casting  her  entire  weight  against  his 
chest,  a  hand  upon  each  shoulder,  and  putting  up  a  tight 
knot  of  a  mouth  for  the  kiss  marital.  "  What  an  eternity 
you  have  been  absent !  I  have  been  ever  so  uneasy 
about  you ! " 

She  re-entered  the  sitting-room,  hanging  by  her  clasped 
hands  upon  his  arm,  and  warbling  in  her  thin  falsetto, — 

"  Now  you  have  come,  all  my  fears  are  removed, 
Let  me  forget  that  so  long  you  have  roved  1 " 

It  was  not  in  human  nature,  even  such  a  gentlemanly 
nature  as  Roy's,  to  remain  unmoved  by  the  spectacle. 
His  risible  muscles  were  still  rebellions  when  he  invited 


JESSAMINE.  337 

Orrir)  to  seat  himself  near  the  fire,  and  observed  in  tones 
that  would  waver,  despite  politeness  and  pity,  that  "  the 
night  was  very  cold." 

An  awkward  little  pause  ensued.  Orrin's  chair  was  at 
Jessie's  right  hand,  and  he  turned  slightly  in  that  direc 
tion  while  stooping  to  warm  his  hands  at  the  blazing 
hearth,  as  if  expecting  some  hospitable  demonstration 
from  her.  She  folded  her  work  as  neatly  as  if  handling 
satin  instead  of  flannel,  laid  it  within  her  basket  and  set 
it  back,  and,  with  a  word  of  apology,  left  the  room  to  or 
der  refreshments  for  the  guests.  On  her  return,  she  en 
tered  from  the  parlors  that  she  might  more  easily  reach  a 
divan  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  hearth  from  Orrin. 
Hester  was  whispering  to  her  husband,  and  Roy,  whose 
seat  was  next  that  Jessie  had  taken,  glanced  down  at  her 
with  a  smile  of  cheerful  greeting,  as  she  made  the  ex 
change.  She  met  it  with  eyes  that  well-nigh  destroyed 
his  composure.  Mournful  to  wretchedness  ;  appealing 
to  supplication,  they  seemed  to  lay  her  soul  open  to  his 
regards;  to  ask  of  him — was  it  succor  or  forgiveness? 
it  could  not  be  affection  ! 

She,  at  least,  ought  to  have  known  "Wyllys  too  well  to 
imagine — if  she  thought  of  him  at  all — that  the  silent  by 
play  would  pass  unnoticed  and  uncomprehended  by  him. 
In  his  bachelorhood,  the  expression  of  aversion  to  his 
proximity,  and  the  mute  resort  to  her  husband's  protec 
tion,  would  have  amused  and  incited  him  to  the  exercise 
of  more  potent  fascinations.  But  Jessie's  demeanor,  of 
late,  had  irked  him  unreasonably.  lie  could  have  sup 
ported  an  overt  show  of  vindictiveness  better  than  the 
dignified  indifference  that  baffled  his  attempts  to  re-estab 
lish  their  confidential  relations.  Manoeuvre  as  he  might, 

15 


338  JESSAMINE. 

and  as  he  did,  he  could  never  see  her  for  one  instant 
alone,  and  this,  he  was  sure,  was  not  accidental.  Upon 
one  pretext  or  another,  he  called  at  the  cottage  at  all 
hours — most  frequently  when  he  knew  Roy  was  engaged 
in  his  professional  duties.  "  Mrs.  Fordham  begged  to  be 
excused,"  occasionally  ;  oftener  kept  him  waiting  below 
until  the,  to  him,  inopportune  burst  of  Mrs.  Baxter  into 
the  parlor,  or  Fanny  Provost's  entrance  through  the  side- 
porch  next  her  home,  prevented  a  tete-d-tete. 

He  could  not  believe  that  she  had  taken  her,  whom  he 
swore  at  inwardly  as  a  "  chattering  cockatoo,"  into  her 
confidence  in  a  matter  so  delicate  as  her  unextinguished 

d» 

passion  for  himself,  but  it  was  plain  that  the  coincidences 
which  damaged  his  plans  were  somebody's  work.  For  a 
while  he  derived  some  compensation  for  his  disappoint 
ment  from  the  additional  evidence  thus  furnished  him 
by  the  short-sighted  novice  in  scheming,  that  her  shyness 
was  the  fruit  of  cowardice ;  that  lively  coals  of  love  for 
him  still  lurked  beneath  the  ashes  with  which  she  would 
fain  keep  them  smothered.  But  his  best  powers  of 
finesse  had  not  elicited  a  flash  from  these.  Adroit  ref 
erences  to  scenes  and  words  which  she  could  not  recall 
without  emotion,  if  the  wonted  fires  were  still  there,  had 
produced  as  little  visible  effect  as  did  his  ardent  protesta 
tions  of  cousinly  attachment.  She  treated  him  as  she  did 
a  dozen  other  gentlemen — neither  worse  nor  better. 
Mortification  and  amazement  at  his  non-success  were  but 
human.  Displeasure  and  the  inclination  to  retaliate  upon 
the  instrument  of  his  discomfiture  were  unprofessional, 
and  the  display  of  them  impolitic  to  the  last  degree. 
That  he  admitted  these  feelings,  was  to  be  accounted  for 
plausibly  only  upon  the  hypothesis  that  contact  with  the 


JESSAMINE.  339 

sour  whey  of  his  wife's  temper  had  not  improved  his 
own.  In  times  past,  he  had  been  too  rational,  as  well  aa 
too  firmly  entrenched  in  his  self-appreciation,  to  descend 
to  serious  meditation  upon  the  practice  of  a  quality  so 
vulgar,  and  usually  so  unremunerative  as  revenge.  Two 
whole  months  had  gone  by  since  he  laid  his  plans  of  ad 
vance  upon  the  fortification  of  matronly  propriety  and 
womanly  pride,  and  he  had  not  gained  an  inch  that  he 
could  discover. 

It  was  fortunate  for  Jessie's  self-respect  that  in  her 
harshest  judgment  of  his  motives  and  character,  she 
never  surmised  what  was  his  present  purpose.  With  her 
natural  propensity  to  blame  herself  for  tho  sins  others 
committed  against  her,  she  would  have  leaped  to  the  in 
ference  that  he  had  seen  warrant  in  her  former  indis 
cretion  and  inconstancy,  for  the  belief  that  neither  moral 
nor  religious  principle  would  serve  her  successfully  in 
resisting  his  declaration  of  undiininished  attachment; 
that  she  who  had  played  false  to  the  lover,  wrould  be  un 
faithful  to  the  husband,  if  a  similar  magnet  were  pre 
sented  to  her  vacillating  heart.  She  saw,  indeed,  that  he 
courted  her  notice  and  friendship ;  believed  that  she  read  in 
his  conduct  lingering  fears  that  she  might  yet  betray  his 
perfidy  to  Hoy,  if  she  were  not  propitiated  by  such  sugar 
plums  of  attention  as  other  women  liked.  The  con 
viction  of  his  cowardice  had  dealt  the  heaviest  blow  at 
the  idol  that  crumbled  into  common  dust  on  that  Sep 
tember  day.  All  vestige  of  godhood  had  departed  be 
neath  the  shock.  A  brave  man  might  sin ;  a  good  man 
might,  under  extreme  provocation,  be  cruel.  The  caitiff 
who  slunk  away,  whining,  at  sight  of  the  lifted  scou'ga 


3iO  JESSAMINE. 

which  should  punish  him  for  the  crime  he  could  not 
deny,  must  forfeit  love  with  esteem. 

Wyllys*  mood,  at  sight  of  the  rapid  signal  or  query 
that  passed  from  husband  to  wife,  was  the  exact  reverse 
of  amiable,  and  he  was  not  pacified  by  Hester's  conduct. 
Hitching  her  chair  close  to  her  lord's,  she  stroked  his 
hair  and  beard,  smiling  affectedly,  in  amorous  languish 
ment,  at  her  lately  purchased  vassal,  and  purring  like  a  cat 
So  soon  as  he  could  decently  seek  deliverance  from  the 
absurd  situation,  Orrin  slipped  from  under  the  crawling 
fingers,  and  began  to  examine  the  books  upon  the  centre- 
table. 

"  Isn't  he  looking  well  ?  "  said  his  tormentor  to  Roy, 
showing  all  her  prominent  teeth  in  the  affectionate  leer 
she  sent  after  him. 

"  Yery  well.  His  health  has  always  been  excellent,  I 
believe,"  rejoined  Roy.  "Although  his  active  habits 
have  hindered  the  gain  of  so  much  as  a  pound  of  super 
fluous  flesh." 

It  hurt  him  to  see  his  gay  and  gallant  clansman  in  the 
humiliating  position  of  a  led  bear,  at  the  mercy  of  a 
marmoset,  but  he  could  not  be  anything  but  civil  in  his 
own  house. 

"  Oh  !  Oh  !  don't  hint  at  the  possibility  of  his  ever  get 
ting  fat!  I  think  lean  people  are  just  too  sweet !  I 
wouldn't  have  him  altered  by  the  change  of  a  single  hair 
in  his  mustache.  Women  ought  to  think  their  hus 
bands  perfect,  oughtn't  they,  Cousin  Jessie  ? " 

"  If  they  are  perfect !  "  was  the  reply. 

Mrs.  Wyllys  accomplished  a  compound  toss  of  her  head  ; 
her  ear-rings  fairly  jingling,  and  the  flowers  in  her  sandy 
braids  and  frizettes  quivering  like  aspens  in  an  east  wind 


JLSSAMINK.  £41 

"  That  is  rank  heresy  !  Love  that  isn't  blind  is  no 
love  at  all.  I  wouldn't  give  a  fig  for  the  constancy  of  a 
wife  who  could  detect  the  slightest  Haw  in  the  man  she 
has  promised  to  love,  honor,  and  obey.  Would  you  now, 
Mr.  Fordham  ? " 

"  If  you  would  have  my  candid  opinion,  I  should  prefei 
intelligent  and  discriminating  esteem  to  blind  adoration," 
was  the  courteous  rejoinder,  at  which  the  lady  bridled. 

"  I  might  have  expected  some  such  answer  in  this  staid, 
matter-of-fact  household  !  Now,  Orrin  and  I — " 

"  You  are  true  to  your  penchant  for  Mrs.  Norton,  I 
perceive  ! "  Orrin  interrupted  her  unceremoniously,  look 
ing  across  at  Jessie.  "  This  is  a  handsome  English 
edition  of  her  poems." 

"  Yes !  I  have  had  it  for  several  years." 

"  Is  that  an  implication  that  you  would  not  procure  it 
now,  if  you  did  not  possess  it  ? " 

"  I  imply  nothing,  except  that  she  is  popular  with  most 
young  girls." 

"  Woman,  then,  in  her  maturity  of  mind  and  affection, 
grows  out  of  the  taste  for  the  '  female  Byron  ' — for  that  13 
Mrs.  Norton's  sobriquet  in  the  literary  world?"  he  said, 
interrogatively,  and  in  suave  deference  to  her  judgment. 
"  What  some  contend  poetry  should  be, — the  lyrical 
expression  of  passion, — sounds  extravagant  to  one  who 
lias  studied  life  for  herself.  Must  this  be  so  ?  Are  there 
no  recesses  far  down  in  the  heart  where  the  dew  will  lie 
all  day  ?  Because  we  have  learned  to  think  in  sober  and 
weighty  prose,  must  we  blush  to  remember  that  our  souls 
once  melted  through  our  eyes  as  we  sang,  '  Thy  Name 
was  Once  the  Magic  Spell,'  or  read,  '  The  Tryst,'  and 
4 1  Cannot  Love  Thee?'" 


342  JESSAMINE. 

"  I  have  a  song,  called — '  I  do  not  Love  Thee,' "  in 
terposed  Mrs.  Wyllys.  "  It  is  just  the  sweetest  thing  you 
ever  heard.  Let  me  see  !  How  does  the  air  go  ?  "  hum 
ming.  "  I  do  not  love  thee  !  No !  I  do  not  love  thee  !  " 

"  I  am  tempted  to  doubt  the  decline  of  your  admira 
tion  for  our  poetess,"  pursued  Wyllys  to  Jessie,  with 
royal  disregard  of  his  beloved's  vocalization.  "  The  book 
opens  of  itself  at  the  last-named  poem." 

"  Do  read  it  aloud,  lovey  !  "  begged  Hester,  eagerly. 
"I  should  so  like  to  hear  it !  And  he  does  read  poetry 
so  exquisitely  !"  to  the  Fordhams.  "It  is  just  perfectly 
delightful  to  listen  to  him  !  I  tell  him  that  was  the  way 
he  captivated  me,  with  his  reading  and  his  singing.  They 
are  too  sweet ! " 

"  Let  us  have  it,  Orrin  !  "  said  Roy,  good-humoredly, 
desirous  to  relieve  him  from  the  saccharine  shower.  "  I 
never  read  it,  I  think.  But  I  was  always  '  matter-of- 
fact,'  as  Mrs.  Wyllys  has  already  discovered.  Perhaps 
the  '  lyrical  expression  of  passion '  had  less  hold  upon 
iny  adolescent  imagination  than  it  generally  has  upon  im 
pressible  youth." 

He  resigned  himself  patiently  to  the  hearing  of  an 
ultra-pathetic  love-song. 

Jessie  knew  every  line  of  the  poem  already.  She  had 
said  it  over  to  herself,  scores  of  times,  last  Summer,  toss 
ing  wakefully  upon  her  pillow  at  midnight,  until  the  pine 
boughs  seemed  to  have  caught  the  rhythm  ;  or  pacing  the 
garden  walks  with  hurrying  feet;  or  hanging  over  the 
railing  of  the  rustic  foot-bridge.  But  she  could  not  help 
listening,  as  the  cunning  modulations  of  the  reader  drew 
out  the  simple  fervor  of  each  line. 

A  steely-blue  ray  shot  from  beneath  his  eyelashes  in 


JESSAMINE.  34.3 

her  direction,  as  he  turned  a  leaf.  She  did  not  see  it. 
Perfectly  still,  yet  attentive,  she  had  leaned  her  head 
against  the  high  back  of  her  husband's  chair,  and  was 
looking  straight  before  her. 

o  o 

The  cold  disgust, 
Wonderful  and  most  unjust, 

found  no  expression  in  attitude  and  feature. 

The  reader's  voice  mellowed;    the  emphasis  of  sup 
pressed  emotion  was  more  artistic  and  effective. 

Seems  to  me  that  I  should  guess 
By  what  a  world  of  bitterness, 
By  what  a  gulf  of  hopeless  care, 
Our  two  hearts  divided  are. 


And  I  praise  thee  as  I  go, 
Wandering,  weary,  full  of  woe 
To  my  own  unwilling  heart, — 
Cheating  it  to  take  thy  part, 
By  rehearsing  each  rare  merit 
Which  thy  nature  doth  inherit ; 
How  thy  heart  is  good  and  true, 
And  thy  face  most  fair  to  view ; 
How  the  powers  of  thy  mind 
Flatterers  in  the  wisest  find, 
And  the  talents  to  thee  given, 
Seem  as  held  in  trust  for  Heaven, 
Laboring  on  for  noble  ends, 
Steady  to  thy  boyhood's  friends, 
Slow  to  give  or  take  offence, 
Full  of  earnest  eloquence. 

How,  in  brief,  there  dwells  in  thee 
All  that's  generous  and  free, 
All  that  may  most  aptly  move 
My  spirit  to  an  answering  love. 


344  JESSAMINE. 

"  "Was'nt  it  too  funny  that  she  didn't  give  in  to  such  a 
splendid  fellow?"  queried  Hester,  sniffing  away  the 
emotion  she  had  tried  to  sop  up  with  her  laced  handker 
chief.  "  I  never  can  hear  dear  Orrinread  without  crying, 
no  matter  what  the  subject  is.  I  couldn't  have  helped 
falling  in  love  with  him,  I  know.  It  was  queer,  now ! " 
fretfully,  as  she  saw  Jessie's  countenance.  "  I  don't  see 
what  there  is  amusing  about  it !  " 

Jessie  held  her  head  erect — a  movement  full  of  spirit 
and  gladness — and  laughed.  It  was  no  mirthless  sound, 
but  a  ripple  of  real  joyousness. 

"Very  queer!  "  she  answered,  merrily.  "Mr.  Wyllys! 
we  must  call  upon  you  to  explain  the  phenomenon.  You 
evidently  understand  it.  You  read  the  poem  con  amore" 

She  sprang  up  to  serve  her  guests  from  the  waiter 
Phoebe  had  placed  upon  the  table.  Roy  followed  her. 

"  They  tell  me  you  make  a  delicious  article  of  domestic 
wine,  Mrs.  Fordham — of  elderberries,  or  grapes,  or 
currants — or  something,"  said  Mrs.  Wyllys,  bent  upon 
patronage  at  every  turn.  "  I  hope  you  are  going  to  treat 
us  to  some  of  it  now." 

"  '  They '  are  mistaken !  "  returned  Jessie,  the  merry  ring 
yet  in  her  voice.  "I  never  attempted  anything  of  the 
kind.  The  best  substitute  I  can  offer  you  for  the  beverage 
you  had  promised  yourself,  is  Rhenish  or  Marsala  which 
Mr.  Fordham  procured  abroad." 

"  I  can  answer  for  her,  I  believe,  Mrs.  Wyllys,  that 
her  efforts  in  that  line  have  been  confined  to  the  brewing 

O 

of  flax-seed  lemonade,  and  sage  tea  ! "  chimed  in  Roy. 

Whereat  Jessie  laughed  again,  as  she  had  not  done  at 
Orrin's  adventure  with  the  gargle. 

Wyllys  arose  to  receive  a  glass  of  wine  from  her  handy 


JESSAMINE.  345 

and,  in  taking  it,  looked  steadily,  reproachfully,  passion 
ately,  into  her  eyes.  They  sustained  the  scrutiny  without 
quailing,  a  glint  of  roguish  defiance  playing  within  tl.  em, 
and  her  lips  curling  at  the  corners,  as  she  turned  away. 
lie  had  a  misgiving  then  that  his  power  over  her  was  at 
an  end.  This  was  not  acting,  but  the  flashing  of  a  stream 
where  the  sunshine  reached  to  its  bed ;  was  filtrated 
through  pure,  sweet  waters.  If  she  were  disenchanted, 
he  knew  whom  he  had  to  thank  for  it.  He  could  have 
hated  his  Hester  for  the  over-fondness  that  had  made 
him  ridiculous  to  optics  which  erst  surveyed  him  with 
timid  and  worshipful  reverence,  as  Semele  may  have  re 
garded  high  Jove. 

He  was  not  sorry  he  had  wedded  as  he  did.  He  had 
too  just  an  appreciation  of  the  inconveniences  of  living 
beyond  one's  means;  the  difficulties  that  environ  a  man 
of  expensive  tastes  and  a  moderate  income,  and  the 
thousand  goods  of  wealth,  to  regret  the  investment, 
which  had  assuredly  yielded  more  than  cent,  per  cent., 
whether  he  estimated  either  the  affection  or  the  money 
he  had  put  into  the  speculation.  He  was  wTise  in  his 
generation.  Hester  was  the  richest  spoil  that  had  ever 
been  laid  in  his  way,  and  he  had  not  hesitated  as  to  the 
line  of  duty.  But  he  did  wish  she  had  not  wheedled 
him  into  this  visit,  that  she  might  have  another  opportu 
nity  to  play  the  fool  herself,  and  force  a  like  part  upon 
him.  Jessie's  laughter  had  stung  him  unreasonably,  and 
in  his  avarice  of  the  praise  of  his  kind,  he  grudged  the 
loss  of  a  moiety  of  Roy's  affectionate  admiration. 

Fordham  did  not  return  to  the  sitting-room  when  he 
had  escorted  his  guests  to  the  outer  door.     He  bade  his 
wife  "  Good-night,"  in  the  hall. 
15* 


345  JESSAMINE. 

"Must  you  work  to-night?"  she  asked,  imploringly. 
"I  meant — I  hoped — that  is,  I  thought  we  would  have  a 
pleasant  chat  over  my  fire." 

Her  manner  was  agitated,  her  eye  restless;  but  he 
scarcely  noted  this,  or  that  she  stammered  strangely  in. 
pi  ef erring  the  petition. 

"Don't  tempt  me!" 

He  would  have  made  his  answer  playful.  It  was  a 
sickly  show,  and  repulsed  Jessie  more  effectually  than 
sternness  would  have  done. 

With  a  burning  blush,  she  dropped  the  hand  she  had 
laid  lightly  on  his  sleeve  ;  murmured  an  apology,  and 
hurried  upstairs,  forgetting  that  she  had  intended  to  sit 
for  a  while  longer  in  the  lower  room.  In  her  own  chamber, 
she  walked  the  floor  in  an  agony  of  shame  and  despair. 

"  He  would  never  have  my  love  now,  if  it  were  offered 
him  !  "  she  said,  wringing  her  hands.  "lie  knows  me  too 
well  I  The  glamour  of  that  happy  love-summer  has 
gone!  gone!  To-night,  I  feel  further  off  from  him  than 
ever.  He  despises  me  as  I  deserve !  But  righteous  pun 
ishment  is  as  hard  to  bear  as  unjust  condemnation.  And 
I  have  suffered  so  much,  and  so  long  !  I  could  have  been 
wholly  frank  with  him,  if  he  had  but  gone  and  sat  with 
me  ten  minutes — if  he  had  been  himself,  instead  of 
shrinking  from  my  touch — rejecting  my  companionship." 

"  The  book  opened  of  itself  at  that  place  !  "  Roy  was 
thinking  at  that  moment.  He  had  been  to  the  sitting- 
room  for  the  volume,  carried  it  into  the  library,  and  re 
read  the  poem  again  and  yet  again,  detecting  what  l.e  im 
agined  was  a  tear  blister  on  the  second  page.  "  What  can 
I  do  ?  What  course  is  left  to  me  save  that  whicn  I  am 
pursuing  ?  Am  I  still  odious  to  her  ? " 


JESSAMINE.  347 

The  girl  at  the  spring  smiled  down  upon  him  from  the 
wall ;  seemed  to  hold  out  the  green  leaf-cup  for  his  ac 
ceptance.  He  could  see  the  glisten  of  the  water  upon  it ; 
fancy  that  he  heard  in  the  stillness  the  tinkle  of  the 
bright  beads  as  they  fell  into  the  basin.  The  eyes  that 
gave  back  her  look  were  very  patient,  but  just  now  it  was 
a  patience  that  had  in  it  much  of  the  weariness  of  hope 
deferred. 

"  I  have  put  a  cup  of  bitterness  to  your  lips,  my  bird  of 
beauty !  "  was  his  unselfish  lament. 

Mr.  Wyllys  "  had  builded  better  than  he  knew,"  that 
evening. 

"  I  wouldn't  be  as  cold-blooded  as  that  woman,  for  all 
the  gold  of  Golconda !  "  exclaimed  Hester,  before  the 
steps  of  the  Fordham  cottage  were  cold  from  the  touch 
of  her  Parisian  gaiters. 

"  Maybe  you  mean  diamonds,"  said  her  husband  curtly. 
"  It  i&  a  safe  plan  not  to  use  terms  unless  you  are  certain 
they  are  correct." 

"  Gold  or  diamonds,  it  makes  110  difference  !  I  don't 
pick  my  words  when  I  am  out  of  patience.  It's  precious 
little  she  has  of  either  commodity,  I  guess ! "  laughing 
spitefully. 

"  Take  care  of  that  rough  place  in  the  crossing,"  cau 
tioned  Wyllys,  in  a  less  acrimonious  tone,  thus  reminded 
what  store  his  spouse  possessed  of  the  valuables  specified, 
and,  by  inevitable  association  of  ideas,  of  his  profitable  in 
vestment. 

"  She  frets  me  always !  "  continued  the  sweet  creature, 
hanging,  according  to  custom,  basket-wise  upon  his  arm. 
"  This  evening  she  was  positively  rude.  How  provok- 


348  JESSAMINE. 

ingly  she  laughed  at  that  sweet  piece  you  read  so  di 
vinely  that  I  was  in  tears  all  the  way  through.  You 
meant  it  for  her,  I  could  see  well  enough,  you  smart,  sly 
creature!  And  it  served  her  just  right!  I  as  good  as 
told  her  she  did  not  care  a  snap  for  her  husband,  before 
you  came  in.  And  she  took  it  as  coolly  as  if  I  had  paid 
her  a  compliment.  It  is  awful  what  seared  consciences 
some  people  have.  I  take  to  myself  the  credit  of  having 
seen  through  her  from  the  beginning,  when  that  horrid  old 
matchmaker,  Mrs.  Baxter,  who  always  puts  me  in  mind  of 
a  grinning  hyena,  was  trying  to  put  her  off  on  you.  As 
if  you  would  have  married  a  girl  who  was  next  door  to  a 
beggar !  "What  is  it,  petty  ? " 

"  I  trod  on  a  pebble !  " 

He  had  almost  flung  her  arms  from  their  hold.  For  he 
remembered  the  story  he  had  told  Jessie  in  the  conserva 
tory,  of  the  woman  who  was  married  for  her  money,  and 
gloried  in  it. 

"  What  a  pity ! "  gabbled  his  owner.  "  I  am  morally 
certain  that  she  married  Mr.  Fordham,  poor  fellow !  to 
get  a  home.  If  that  isn't  disgustingly  immoral — a  perfect 
sale  of  one's  self  in  the  shambles,  as  you  may  say,  I  don't 
know  what  is.  To  be  sure,  your  cousin  is  one  of  the  very 
quiet,  non-exacting  kind,  and  I  hope  doesn't  suffer  as  you 
would,  darling  love,  if  she  were  your  wife!"  pinching 
his  arm  with  her  claw-like  fingers.  "  For  you  and  I  are 
such  turtles,  dearie  ! " 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

PRING  was  forward  in  Hamilton  that  year.  Mrs. 
Baxter,  walking  on  the  presidential  portico  at 
noon  of  a  bright  day  in  the  third  week  of  April, 
complimented  the  extraordinary  benignity  of  that 
usually  coy  month,  by  sporting  the  first  white 
dress  of  the  season. 

A  knot  of  irreverent  students  collected  about  the  win 
dow  of  one  of  the  college  dormitories,  catch  ing  glimpses  of 
her  snowy  draperies  fluttering  from  pillar  to  pillar  of  the 
porch,  made  merry  over  profane  pleasantries,  touching 
"  flourish  ing  almond  trees,"  and  "antique  angels." 

"Wonder  if  she  wears  that  red  flannel  night-cap  to 
ward  off  the  rheumatism ! "  said  one,  directing  his  puny 
arrow  of  wit  at  the  "  individualizing  "  scarlet  scarf,  now 
wound  into  a  turban  about  her  classic  head,  the  silken 
fringes  sweeping  her  shoulder. 

"  It  is  a  piratical  flag !  "  rejoined  another.   "  And  there  ! 
she  is  signalling  some  poor  wretch  on  to  his  doom !  " 
The  Lady  President  had  waved  her  handkerchief  to 


350  JESSAMINE. 

some  one  in  or  near  the  college,  and  halted  at  the  top  of 
the  front  steps  to  receive  him. 

"  Who  is  the  latest  victim  ?  "  asked  those  in  the  rear  of 
the  party,  as  the  foremost  craned  his  neck  to  peer  upon 
the  campus. 

"  One  who  is  able  to  take  care  of  himself,"  was  the 
response.  "No  less  a  personage  than  his  Royal  High 
ness." 

This  sobriquet,  let  me  explain,  was  applied  to  Professor 
Fordharn  in  no  unkind  or  depreciatory  spirit  by  his 
classes.  Originally  intended  as  a  play  upon  his  Chris 
tian  name,  it  grew  into  popular  esteem  as  descriptive  of 
their  pride  in  his  manly  carriage  and  knightly  demeanor. 
The  quintette  at  the  window  watched  him  with  interest 
and  admiration  now,  as  he  strode  along  the  gravelled 
avenue  leading  to  the  Presidents'  house. 

"  He  would  march  up  to  the  cannon's  mouth  in  the 
same  style,"  commented  the  chief  speaker.  "  Did  you 
ever  see  better  shoulders  ?  " 

"  Did  you  ever  see  a  better  man  ?  "  interrogated  the 
fifth  of  the  group — a  grave  senior,  who  had  not  spoken 
before. 

And  to  the  honor  of  the  watchers,  as  of  the  watched, 
be  it  recorded  that  a  hearty  acquiescence  in  his  verdict 
followed  the  question. 

The  goodly  man  found  abundant  favor,  likewise  in 
Mrs.  Baxter's  eyes,  as  she  invited  him  to  enter  her  abode. 

"  '  Will  you  walk  into  my  parlor  ?  ' 
Said  the  spider  to  the  fly." 

Sang  one  of  the  graceless  rascals  in  the  dormitory,  as  a 
commentary  upon  the,  to  them,  dumb  show. 


JESSAMINE.  351 

it  was  to  Fordham  anything  but  dumb.     Mrs.  Baxter 
was  excruciatingly  voluble  in  excusing  herself  for  "  what 
you  must,  I  am  certain,  regard  as  an  unparalleled  lib 
erty,  my  dear  Professor !  "  she  continued,  when  he  was 
seated. 

"  I  am  gratefully  at  your  service  whenever  you  can 
make  use  of  me,  madam,"  was  the  reply,  which  was 
more  sincere  than  professions  of  the  kind  usually  are. 

Mrs.  Baxter's  genuine  love  for  her  young  cousin,  and  her 
numberless  acts  of  neighborly  kindness,  had  greatly  en 
deared  her  to  Jessie's  husband.  Her  peculiarities  of 
manner  and  phraseology  wreighed  nothing  with  him 
when  compared  with  her  sound  principles  and  generous 
heart. 

"  Thank  you !  I  knew  I  might  make  the  venture 
with  you  !  My  own  mind  being  ill  at  ease,  I  could  not 
resist  the  impulse  to  waylay  you  and  unburden  " — mak 
ing  as  though  she  would  clutch  her  heart,  then  sprawling 
both  hands,  her  arms  widely  divergent  lines  from  her 
heaving  bust — "  \ml>urden  myself  to  you,  as  the  person 
most  likely  to  sympathize  with  and  ameliorate  my  anx 
ieties.  I  had  nearly  said,  my  maternal  anxieties.  And 
indeed,  Mr.  Fordham,  I  could  scarcely  love  your  dear 
wife  more,  if  she  were,  in  truth,  my  child.  Dear  to  me 
as  the  representative  of  the  beloved  friend  of  my  youth, 
she  has  enhanced  that  partiality  a  thousandfold  by  her 
own  worth  and  loveliness.  This  is  my  apology — this  and 
the  solicitude  to  which  I  have  referred,  for  what  may  ap 
pear  to  you  indelicate  interference  with  your  domestic 
affairs." 

The  polite  interest  with  which  her  auditor  had  received 
her  prefatory  remarks  was  supplanted  by  uneasiness,  in- 


352  JESSAMINE. 

stant  and  intense,  as  he  perceived  the  drift  of  her  speech. 
He  had  made  a  motion  to  rise  when  the  words,  "  your 
dear  wife,"  passed  her  writhing  lips. 

She  hindered  him  with  outstretched  hands. 

"  Not  that  there  is  any  cause  for  new  and  immediate 
alarm,"  she  hastened  to  assure  him.  "  But  I  was  in  to 
see  her  this  morning.  She  keeps  bravely  up  when  you 
are  at  home,  I  dare  say." 

"  She  never  complains.  I  have  had  my  apprehensions 
that  the  untimely  heat  of  the  weather  has  been  prejudi 
cial  to  her  strength.  Her  appetite  is  variable,  and  she  is 
paler  than  she  was  in  the  winter,  but  I  attributed— 

"  Yes !  of  course  !  "  interrupted  Mrs.  Baxter.  Once 
bent  upon  an  harangue,  she  was  about  as  easily  checked 
as  a  Yellowstone  geyser  in  full  play.  "  I  am  not  surprised 
that  your  fears  have  not  been  awakened.  I  taxed  her,  to 
day,  with  having  deceived  you  as  to  the  extent  of  her 
lassitude  and  depression.  I  surprised  her  lying  on  the 
sofa  in  her  room,  with  the  traces  of  fresh  and  copious 
tears  upon  her  cheeks.  She  tried  to  laugh  me  out  of  my 
fears  by  talk  of  nervousness  and  hysteria,  and  would 
doubtless  have  succeeded,  such  are  her  spirit  and  address 
—but,  Mr.  Fordham!  her  precise  likeness  in  look  and 
manner  at  that  moment  to  her  sainted  mother  sent  a 
poignant  fear  through  my  soul !  Far  be  it  from  me  to 
censure  the  dead,  but  I  have  always  maintained — I  shall 
ever  believe  that  my  precious  Ginevra's  life  might  have 
been  spared — prolonged  for  years — had  her  husband  con 
ferred  with  those  who  were  conversant  with  her  idiosyn 
crasies — spiritual  and  physical.  Although — I  will  reveal 
to  you,  my  dear  sir,  under  the  seal  of  a  secrecy  you  will 
see  the  expediency  of  respecting,  what  I  have  never  lisped 


JESSAMINE.  •  353 

to  her  daughter,  or  even  to  the  best  of  husbands  and 
men — Dr.  Baxter.  My  cousin  Ginevra  carried  a  blighted 
heart  to  Dundee  when  she  went  thither  as  Mr.  Kirke's 
bride.  An  unfortunate  misunderstanding  had  alienated 
her  from  one  to  whom  her  girlish  affections  were  given. 
It  is  needless  to  enter  into  particulars.  It  is  enough  to 
say  that  they  had  loved  and  they  were  parted.  She  had 
not  seen  or  heard  from  him  for  two  years,  most  of  which 
time  she  had  passed  abroad  ;  indeed,  she  believed  him  to 
be  the  husband  of  another  when  she  accepted  Mr.  Kirke. 
I  own  to  you  that  my  instinct  and  my  reason  opposed 
this  fatal  step.  I  expostulated  with  her. 

"  '  Jane ! '  said  she  (you  can  imagine  how  Jessie  would 
utter  it !)  '  say  no  more.  My  resolution  is  taken.  This 
is  a  good  man,  and  he  loves  me  !  In  this  union  I  shall — 
I  may  find  rest,  quiet,  and  in  some  measure,  peace.  1 
have  been  storm-tossed  until  I  have  no  strength  left  for 
struggling ! ' 

"  Upon  the  eve  of  her  marriage,  the  man  whom  she 
loved  returned  and  sought  an  interview.  I  was  with  her 
in  her  chamber  when  his  card,  requesting  this  favor,  was 
handed  her.  At  sight  of  the  familiar  characters  the 
buried  love  sprang  up  alive,  strong,  importunate  !  It  was 
a  fearful  scene — that  resurrection !  What  should  she 
have  done  ?  " 

"  Confessed  all  to  her  promised  husband  !  "  came  low 
and  sternly  from  the  man's  heart.  "  lie  would  have  re 
signed  her  to  her  lover  without  a  word  of  blame.  I  knew 
Mr.  Kirke  well.  I  do  not  speak  unadvisedly." 

"  Such  was  my  counsel.  But  she  would  not  heed  it. 
She  refused  to  look  again  upon  the  face  of  him  whose 
heart  was  breaking  with  love  and  vain  regrets,  and  went 


354  JESSAMINE. 

right  on  to  her  bridal.  And  her  daughter,  if  subjected  to 
a  like  test,  would  act  as  she  did." 

"  You  say  that  Jessie  is  not  well  ? "  said  Roy,  shortly. 

There  were  limits  to  his  fortitude.  He  could  not  heai 
other  lips  tell  what  would  be  Jessie's  action  were  an  ab 
horrent  marriage  forced  upon  her  by  conscience  or  honor 

"  In  my  estimation,  she  is  \eryfar  " — arms  again  di 
vergent — "  very  far  from  well,  even  taking  into  consider 
ation  the  provocatives  to  languor  you  alluded  to,  just 
now.  Furthermore — and  again  let  me  beg  you  to  receive 
this  intimation  in  the  spirit  in  which  I  offer  it ! — further 
more,  she  is  homesick  for  Dundee  and  her  sister.  I  ad 
verted  to  them  casually  to  assure  myself  that  my  views 
on  this  point  were  correct,  and  her  eyes  filled  again  di 
rectly. 

"  '  I  had  hoped  to  see  Euna  this  month,'  she  said,  '  but 
the  change  in  the  college  vacation,  abolishing  the  inter 
mediate,  and  making  one  long  term  instead  of  two  short 
ones,  has  prevented  it.' 

"  But  when  I  remarked — '  I  wish  Eunice  could  pay 
you  a  visit,  were  it  only  from  Saturday  to  Monday  ! '  the 
loyal  wife  (such  a  stanch  advocate  as  you  have  in  her, 
Mr.  Ford  ham  !),  took  alarm. 

" '  Indeed,  Cousin  Jane,  no  one  could  take  kinder  care 
of  me  than  Roy  does ! '  she  said,  warmly.  '  lie  spoils  and 
pets  me  beyond  reason,  and  when  he  is  in  the  house,  I 
desire  no  other  society.' 

"  '  But  my  precious  girl ! '  I  remonstrated  ;  '  he  cannot 
be  with  you  all  the  time  ? ' 

"  I  wish  you  had  seen  the  smile  with  which  she  replied 
— '  Ah  !  but  I  have  the  memory  of  his  goodness  to  live 
on  in  his  absence ! ' 


JESSAMINE.  355 

"She  is  true  and  fond,  Mr.  Fordham!  Nevertheless, 
she  does  need  change  of  air  and  scene.  Her  mothei 

o 

pined  herself  into  an  untimely  grave  in  her  longing  for  a 
sight  of  her  old  home  and  the  faces  of  beloved  ones." 

JRoy  was  silent ;  his  eyes  downcast,  his  lips  whitening 
with  the  pressure  this  story  had  brought  to  bear  upon  him. 
It  was  not  so  much  the  consciousness  that,  in  sending  his 
wife  away,  he  would  rob  his  life  of  repression  and  self- 
denial  of  the  little  sunshine  left  to  it,  as  the  thought  that 
she  was  sickening  of  his  companionship ;  could  not  live 
and  grow  in  his  shadow.  This  was  the  naked  truth,  dis 
guise  it  as  she  might  from  her  cousin  ;  deny  it  to  herself 
as  she  probably  did.  In  every  point  of  Mrs.  Baxter's 
description,  he  recognized  this  terrible  sense  of  bondage, 
crushing  spirit  and  life  ;  heard,  even  in  her  tribute  to  his 
loving  watchfulness  over  her  health  and  bodily  comfort, 
the  plaint  embodied  in  the  poem  he  had  learned  by 
heart : 

"  Like  a  chained  thing,  caressed 
By  the  hand  it  knows  the  best, 
By  the  hand  which,  day  by  day, 
Visits  its  imprisoned  stay, 
Bringing  gifts  of  fruit  and  blossom 
From  the  green  earth's  plenteous  bosom  ; 
All  but  that  for  which  it  pines, 
In  these  narrow,  close  confines, 
With  a  sad  and  ceaseless  sigh, — 
Wild  and  winged  Liberty  !  " 

With  a  deep  inspiration  which  was  the  farewell  to  more 
lopeful  dreams  than  he  knew,  until  then,  he  had  nursed. 
ie  collected  his  senses  to  reply. 

"  It  was  my  intention  to  take  Jessie  to  Dundee  in  June, 
at  the  beginning  of  my  vacation.  She  set  the  time  her 


350  JESSAMINE. 

self — I  can  see  now,  in  compliance  with  what  she  believec 
were  my  wishes.  But  she  shall  go  at  once.  I  thank  yoi 
for  your  more  than  friendly  concern  for  her,  your  franl 
dealing  with  me." 

He  arose  to  go.  The  lady  scanned  his  face  somewha 
uneasily.  There  was  something  there  that  foiled  hoi 
penetration. 

"  You  understand,  my  dear  sir,  that  nothing  woulc 
have  tempted  me  to  intermeddle  in  this  affair,  were  the 
case  precisely  what  you  have  supposed.  But  there  is  at 
undercurrent,  Mr.  Fordham,  the  effect  of  which  I  car 
trace,  that  seriously  complicates  anything  like  hysterical 
depression.  And  loving  the  child  as  we  do — as  every 
one  does,  it  behooves  us  to  watch  her  warily,  minister  tc 
her  intelligently  as  tenderly.  The  affection  between  the 
sisters  is  unusually  strong,  and  we  should  remember  thai 
the  dear  lamb  has  known  no  other  mother." 

"  I  have  offered,  several  times  during  the  winter,  to  take 
her  to  visit  Eunice.  We  were  to  have  gone  at  Christmas, 
but  Jessie  had  a  severe  cold  that  confined  her  to  the  house 
a  fortnight." 

"  I  remember !  To  be  quite  sincere  with  you — not  that 
I  consider  it  a  dangerous  symptom — but  I  wish  she  were 
rid  of  that  little  hacking  cough.  She  makes  light  of  it. 
Says  it  is  nervous,  or  from  the  stomach.  But  I  do  not 
like  it!" 

She  attended  him  to  the  portico,  disclaiming,  caution^ 
ing,  and  thanking  him, — gesticulating  through  it  all — aa 
the  wickedest  of  the  wicked  quintette  of  observers  had  it 
— "  like  a  lunatic  windmill."  They  espied  no  change  ill 
the  Professor's  gait  or  air.  lie  walked  firmly,  head  erect 
and  coiutenance  composed.  And  their  distance  from 


JESSAMINE.  357 

him  was  too  great  to  allow  them  to  note  the  want  of  color 
in  his  complexion. 

He  entered  his  own  house,  more  slowly  than  he  had 
trodden  the  pavement.  Jessie  had  fallen  into  the  habit 
common  to  wives  who  hail  their  husbands'  return  aa 
cheering  events,  of  meeting  him  in  the  hall,  sometimes  at 
;he  front  door.  She  appeared  from  the  sitting-room, 
^virile  he  was  hanging  up  his  hat  and  dusting  his  boots. 
[Ie  was  particular  in  all  that  pertained  to  personal  neat- 
less. 

"  Your  step  sounds  weary,"  she  said.  "  It  is  very 
.varm,  really  debilitating,  to-day — is  it  not?  " 

During  his  brief  answer  he  surveyed  her  narrowly,  the 
Iread  that  had  been  gnawing  his  heart  all  the  way  home 
harpening  his  vision  in  the  search  for  signs  of  debility 
md  disease. 

She,  too,  wore  a  white  dress,  but  a  black  grenadine 
hawl  was  folded  over  her  chest,  and  Hoy's  eye  rested 
ighast  upon  the  thin  hand  that  held  it  together.  What 
iad  he  been  thinking  of,  not  to  discern  the  inroads  of  the 
lestroyer  in  this,  and  in  the  finer  oval  of  her  face ;  in 
lie  slight  cough  that  succeeded  her  question,  and  the  hur- 
ied  breathing  he  could  hear  in  approaching  her?  If  his 
-wakening  should  have  come  too  late ! 

"  I  believe  I  have  the  Spring  fever,"  he  said,  affecting 
a  suppress  a  yawn.  "  This  weather  puts  one  in  mind  of 
iountry  delights ;  makes  him  crave  the  smell  of  the 
ireshly  upturned  earth,  and  the  sight  of  green  and 
irowinff  things." 

o  o 

"  Then  take  a  look  at  my  conservatory,"  she  returned, 
layfully,  leading  the  way  to  the  open  bay-window. 
The  sill,  without  And  within,  was  crowded  with  plants. 


358  JESSAMINE. 

She  had  been  at  work  among  them  for  an  hour,  and  they 
were   in  their  freshest   trim.     The   priming-scissors   la 
upon  the  shelf,  and,  taking  them  up,  she  clipped  a  fipr 
of  heliotrope,  another  of  mignonette,  a  rose-bud,  and 
bit  of  citron-aloes,  bound  them  together  with  silk  from 
her  work-basket,  and  offered  them  smilingly. 

"  Thank  you.  They  are  very  sweet,  very  beautiful 
How  does  the  jessamine  thrive  ?  " 

"  Not  so  well  as  it  should — ungrateful  little  thing ! 
touching  the  leaves  of  a  stunted  vine  which  was  honorec 
with  a  china  flower-pot  and  the  sunniest  stand  in  the  win 
dow.     "  I  am  afraid  it  cannot  flourish  in  this  hi«;li  lati 

O 

tude.  It  needs  warmer  earth,  less  fitful  sunshine.  Or  i 
may  be  that  I  am  killing  it  with  kindness,"  she  acldec 
shaking  her  head  pensively. 

Roy  detected  another  meaning  in  her  thoughtfulness 
Ungenial  influences,  unwelcome  assiduity  of  attention 
were  sapping  her  vitality,  and  the  analogy  between  he 
lot  and  that  of  her  fading  favorite  was  wearing  upon  he 
imagination. 

"  We  will  try  again." 

He  had  to  clear  his  throat  before  he  could  speak.  Jes 
sie  smiled  slightly,  with  no  misgiving  of  the  communica 
tion  that  awaited  her.  She  even  stooped  to  pick  off  a  few 
withered  leaves  that  had  previously  escaped  her  notice 
The  two  were  side  by  side  within  the  recess  ;  so  near  to 
gether  that  the  warm  breeze  blew  the  light  folds  of  th< 
wife's  dress  over  the  husband's  arm  ;  but  she  recked  nt 
more  of  the  wretchedness  kept  down  by  his  strong  wil 
than  if  a  thousand  leagues  of  ocean  divided  them. 

"  I  have  been  thinking  seriously  all  the  way  home  o 
taking  y  HI  to  Dundee,  and  leaving  you  in  Eunice's  charg' 


JESSAMINE.  350 

for  a  time,"  continued  Roy,  presently.  "  Yon  are  not  so 
rosy  and  light-footed  here  as  you  were  among  the  moun 
tains.  And  the  sudden  variations  of  our  climate  affect 
the  human  Jessamine  also !  You  should  have  a  change, 
and  without  delay." 

"  I  am  very  well — entirely  contented  !  "  she  interposed, 
reddening  vividly. 

"  You  are  kind  to  say  so  !  "  gratefully.  u  But  there 
are  other  reasons  why  you  should  anticipate  the  date 
originally  set  for  your  visit  to  your  old  home.  Eunice 
has  been  very  self-denying  and  patient,  and  she  should 
have  her  reward.  While  you  are  regaining  health  and 
strength,  winning  back  your  lost  roses,  you  can  accumu 
late  a  plentiful  supply  of  seeds  and  roots  of  all  descrip 
tions,  besides  studying  floriculture  with  your  sister — if  it 
be  true,  as  you  would  make  me  believe,  that  she  excels 
you  in  skill.  For  in  your  absence  I  shall  have  a  real 
conservatory  built  back  of  this  room,  and  our  long  talked- 
of  oriel  run  out  here." 

Jessie  made  a  desperate  effort  to  jest  away  the  discus 
sion. 

"  Oh !  as  to  the  oriel,  I  have  quite  abandoned  the 
project  since  Mrs.  \Vyllys  told  ine — having  learned  from 
the  Provosts  that  we  meditated  something  of  the  sort — 
that  oriels  had  '  gone  out  entirely  ;  that  no  stylish  house 
nowadays  is  disfigured  by  them.'  The  only  thing  re 
sembling  the  obsolete  excrescences  that  would  be  admit 
ted  into  a  modern  '  establishment '  is  a  mullioned  window, 
my  good  sir !  I  should  never  hold  up  my  head  in  Ham 
ilton  again  if  1  were  to  offend  so  boldly  against  the  rules 
of  art  governing  the  best  society  !  " 

The  toss  of  her  head  and  her  tones  were  Mrs.  Orrin'a 


360  JESSAMINE. 

to  the  life.  But  Roy  had  hard  work  to  smile.  In  h.s 
state  of  mind,  badinage  was  like  jesting  over  a  death 
bed. 

"  Mrs.  Wyllys  must  look  the  other  way,  then — at  the 
majestic  proportions  of  her  cupola,  if  she  likes,  for  the 
oriel  is  to  be  a  fact  next  month.  The  work  will  be  better 
done  if  I  am  on  the  ground  to  oversee  operations,  and  it 
would  not  be  pleasant  for  yon  to  remain  in  the  house 
while  it  is  in  confusion,  not  to  mention  the  risk  of  taking 
cold  from  the  damp  walls  and  the  open  room,  while  the 
wall  is  down.  It  will  be  a  convenience  all  around,  you 
see." 

"  If  you  really  think  that  I  will  be  in  the  way — 

"  I  did  not  say  that !  "  The  correction  w^as  so  prompt 
as  to  sound  sharp.  "  But  my  judgment  tells  me  that-the 
plan  I  suggest  is  the  best  for  both  of  us.  My  mind  will 
be  easier  with  regard  to  you  if  you  are  safe  and  happy  in 
Eunice's  care." 

Jessie  had  turned  her  face  quite  away,  and  seemed  to 
be  gazing  at  some  object  in  the  street. 

"  I  see ! "  she  said,  finally.  "  When  do  you  wish  me  to 
go?" 

"Whenever  it  suits  your  convenience.  If  you  desire 
my  escort,  we  had  best  leave  Hamilton  on  Saturday  of 
this  or  the  next  week." 

"  I  can  travel  alone  easily  if  it  is  not  convenient  foi 
you  to  leave  your  classes.  If  you  go  on  Saturday  you 
lose  Monday  also.  This  is  Tuesday.  I  can  be  ready  by 
Thursday  morning.  If  the  change  be  as  needful  as  you 
suppose,  the  sooner  it  is  made  the  better.  As  to  an  es 
cort,  a  lady  needs  none  when  there  is  no  change  of  cars." 

Roy  pinched  the  succulent  stems  of  his  flowers  until  the 


JESSAMINE.  301 

perfume  was  hot  and  sickly.  How  impatient  she  was  to 
be  gone !  She  had  gasped  when  he  opened  the  door  of 
escape  from  her  cage,  as  if  she  already  saw  "  wild  and 
winged  liberty"  beyond. 

"  You  do  not  think  it  necessary  to  notify  Eunice  of 
jour  coming,  then  ? "  he  inquired. 

"  You  can  telegraph  on  Thursday  morning,  when  you 
are  fairly  rid  of  me.  Euna  is  always  at  home,  and 
always  ready  and  glad  to  see  me.  My  visit  will  make 
her  very  happy." 

The  rising  tears  broke  through  her  assumed  lightness. 
She  struggled  to  drive  them  back,  and  failing,  walked 
abruptly  from  the  room. 

And  thus  the  question  was  settled. 

Jessie  began  to  pack  that  afternoon  ;  working  so  dili 
gently  as  to  be  wan  and  appetiteless  by  supper  time.  Fanny 
Provost  and  her  betrothed,  Lieutenant  Averill,  who  was 
in  Hamilton  on  furlough,  called  in  the  evening.  Warren 
Provost  and  Selina  Bradley  came  in  afterward,  and  the 
hostess  revived  visibly  in  their  society.  Her  eyes  and 
color  were  brilliant ;  her  laugh  ready ;  her  repartee 
pointed  and  felicitous.  Tbeyonng  people,  regretting  the 
near  prospect  of  her  departure,  fell  to  rallying  her  upon 
her  partiality  for  country  life,  and  she  defended  the 
preference  with  spirit.  Then,  at  Fanny's  earnest  request, 
she  told  the  authentic  legend  of  Dundee  and  "  auld 
Davie,"  appearing  to  forget  herself  and  her  slavery 
(thought  Roy),  in  her  enthusiasm. 

"•  The  women  fought  too  !  "  ejaculated  Selina,  when  it 
was  finished.  "  They  were  made  of  different  stuff  from  me, 
or  any  other  young  lady  of  this  generation  that  I  know. 
I  go  into  convulsions  at  the  sight  of  an  empty  gun." 


302  JESSAMINE. 

"  They  were  warring  for  home  and  freedom  !  "  rejoined 
Jessie.  "  To  avoid  captivity  I  would  fight  in  the  open 
field  in  the  ranks.  And  so  would  you.  But  the  love  of 
liberty  is  ofteuer  a  passion  with  us  mountaineers,  than 
with  lowlanders." 

She  caught  her  breath  strangely-  something  between 
a  sob  and  a  laugh — which  she  tried  tx  cover  with  a  cough. 

"  A  Bad  and  ceaseless  sigh  !  " 

repeated  the  haunting  demon  in  Hoy's  heart. 

The  hilarious  talk  went  on,  unchecked  by  his  occa 
sional  fits  of  abstraction.  Jessie  was  like  another  being 
in  the  anticipation  of  liberation. 

"  Heartlessly  cheerful !  "  said  Selina,  with  her  usual 
aptitude  for  making  unlucky  observations. 

"  One  would  think  you  two  were  tired  of  each  other 
already !  "  she  subjoined.  "And  you  haven't  been  mar 
ried  more  than  half  a  year !  I  shall  tell  this  to  papa.  He 
raved  over  your  mutual  attachment  and  your  devoted  at 
tentions  to  Mr.  Fordham  when  he  was  sick,  Jessie  !  " 

"  Say,  at  the  same  time,  that  she  does  not  go,  of  her  own 
accord  !"  said  Roy — "but  because  I  try  to  be  as  careful 
of  her  health  as  she  was  of  mine.  Although,  if  you  had 
ever  visited  Dundee,  you  would  not  be  scandalized  by  her 
desire  to  revisit  it." 

Fanny,  observing  Jessie's  quick,  hot  blush  and  averted 
eyes,  and  divining  that  something  was  ajar,  came  to  tlio 
relief  of  the  hardly  pressed  couple. 

"  Did  Jessie  ever  tell  you,  Mr.  Fordham,"  she  said,  in 
her  liveliest  tone — "of  the  astounding  poetical  effort  put 
forth  by  her  admirer,  Mr.  Lowndes,  the  rich  student,  they 
used  to  call  him — entitled,  '  Jessie  the  flower  o'  Duu- 


JESSAMINE.  303 

dee'!  The  graceless  youths  of  his  class  set  it  to  the 
good  old  Scotch  tune  of  that  name.  It  was  in  a  different 
metre — very  'wwcomraon,  I  believe,  and  the  fun  of  the 
joke  was  in  fitting  the  words  in,  after  the  manner  of 
'  Ancient  Uncle  Edward.'  I  will  get  you  a  copy,  and 
Warren  here  shall  teach  you  how  to  sing  it." 

\ 


CHAPTER   XXYL 

HE  weather  changed  on  the  morrow. 

Coming  home  at  nightfall,  Roy  found  Jessie 
standing  at  the  western  window,  surveying  sorrow 
fully  the  unfavorable  aspect  of  the  heavens. 

"  It  will  be  very  unpleasant  travelling  in  the 
rain!"  she  remarked  as  he  entered.  "The  sun  went 
down  behind  a  portentous  bank  of  clouds.  And  the  wind 
is  veering  to  the  storm-quarter." 

It  was  evident  that  the  possibility  of  a  single  day's 
delay  made  her  restless  and  anxious. 

"  The  signs  portend  nothing  worse  than  April  showers, 
I  hope,"  he  encouraged  her  to  believe.  "  Or,  should  there 
be  a  steady  rain,  you  will  soon  run  out  of  it  into  the 
region  of  blue  skies  and  milder  airs.  I  see  no  reason 
for  altering  your  arrangements.  You  will  be  sheltered 
and  dry  in  the  cars." 

"  True  !  "  she  answered,  musingly,  returning  to  her  con 
templation  of  the  unpromising  horizon. 


JESSAMINE.  305 

She  was  perturbed,  however,  and  unusually  taciturn 
while  they  were  at  supper ;  dull  and  spiritless  during  the 
hour  they  spent  together  in  the  sitting-room  ;  arousing 
herself  with  apparent  effort  to  reply  to  his  remarks,  and 
rarely  offering  one  of  her  own  accord.  Hoy's  attempts  at 
cheerful  conversation  were  less  evenly  sustained  than 
was  customary  with  him  in  her  presence.  It  was  not  his 
intention  that  this  last  evening  should  be  one  of  gloomy 
constraint,  but  it  approximated  this  more  nearly  every  mo 
ment.  Both  were  abstracted,  and  each  was  unwilling  that 
the  other  should  discover  the  direction  in  which  his  and 
her  thoughts  were  straying.  So  the  pauses  in  the  sluggish 
flow  of  talk  became  more  and  more  frequent,  until,  at 
nine  o'clock,  Jessie  arose,  with  a  sigh  of  relief. 

"  I  must  get  a  good  night's  rest,  if  I  am  to  travel,  to 
morrow.  "Will  you  excuse  me  if  I  go  upstairs,  thus  early  ? " 

"  Do  not  let  me  detain  you  a  moment.  Is  there  noth 
ing  I  can  do  to  assist  you  ? " 

"Nothing — thank  you!  There  will  be  time  to  strap 
my  trunks  in  the  morning.  You  still  think  I  had  better 
go — whatever  maybe  the  weather?"  stopping  with  the 
door  in  her  hand. 

"  I  do,  certainly ;  that  is,  if  you  are  not  afraid  of  adding 
to  your  cold— if  you  are  well  enough." 

"  My  cold  is  nothing.  I  have  ordered  breakfast  at 
half -past  six.  I  am  glad  the  train  does  not  leave  so  early 
as  it  did  last  year.  Good-night ! " 

The  cold,  indifferent  accents  sank  to  the  bottom  of  his 
heart  like  lead.  What  a  millstone  about  this  woman's 
neck  was  her  marriage  vow  !  His  endeavors  to  make  it 
lighter,  and  her  existence  endurable— the  work  to  which 
he  had  given  his  best  energies  and  wisest  deliberations; 


366  JESSAMINE. 

the  self-abnegation  and  prayerful  struggle  he  had  ac 
cepted  as  the  penalty  of  his  grievous  indiscretion,  had 
proved  futile.  He  had  guarded  eye,  tongue,  and  action 
for  five  months ;  drilled  them  in  friendly  looks,  words, 
and  deeds,  lest  a  glimmer  of  the  affection  that  glowed— 
a  pent  but  consuming  fire  in  his  soul — should  offend  or 
dismay  her ;  had  ministered  to  her  with  a  lover's  con 
stancy  and  tenderness  without  a  hint  of  love's  reward. 
And  this  was  the  end!  Some  significant  glance,  an 
intonation,  an  excess  of  solicitude  for  her  welfare,  had 
betrayed  his  design  to  win  her  anew,  and  she  had 
taken  the  alarm;  was  terrified  and  reluctant,  without  the 
power  of  escape.  Or  her  constitution — physical  and  spir 
itual — had  succumbed  to  the  attrition  of  duty  against 
womanly  instinct.  With  vain  care  he  had  kept  her  shackles 
out  of  sight.  Everything  in  her  surroundings ;  the  very 
pronunciation  of  her  name  by  acquaintances,  had  re 
minded  her  continually  of  her  anomalous  position.  Nei 
ther  wife,  nor  maid,  she  stood,  according  to  her  morbid 
perceptions,  alone  and  banned,  without  so  much  as  a  title 
to  the  shelter  of  his  roof,  except  as  a  bondwoman.  She 
could  not  forget  that  she  was  a  slave.  The  untamable 
heart — in  which  the  "  love  of  liberty ''  was  a  "  passion," 
was  beating  itself  to  death  against  the  bars  he  had  fool 
ishly  hoped  to  cushion  and  wreathe  until  she  should  cease 
to  feel  them  as  a  restraint. 

She  had  not  loved  him  when  she  married  him.  That 
this  change  in  her  sentiments  was  not  a  passing  girlish 
caprice,  he  had  evidence  in  the  words  she  had  written  to 
him  while  the  right  of  free  speech  remained  to  her. 

"  Months  of  doubt  and  suffering  have  brought  me  to 
the  determination  to  confess  this  without  reserve." 


JESSAMINE.  367 

"  Doubt  and  suffering !  "  "What  were  these  to  the 
horrors  of  her  actual  bondage? 

"  From  which  I  cannot  release  her  !  "  he  repeated,  for 
the  thousandth  time. 

His  habit  was  to  go  to  the  library  when  she  left  him 
for  the  night,  but  he  lingered,  this  evening,  in  the  apart 
ment  he  had  fitted  up  for  her  with  such  fond  pride;, 
which  she  had  made  a  sacred  place  by  her  abiding. 
There  was  a  cruel  pleasure  in  noting  the  tokens  of  her 
recent  presence  ;  in  inhaling  the  odors  of  the  flowers  she 
had  tended  ;  in  touching  the  books  she  had  handled. 
She  could  never  be  more  to  him  than  she  was  now.  He 
believed  that  she  must,  from  this  hour,  be  less  ;  that  the 
solace  of  her  friendship  would  be  withheld.  Else,  wliy 
her  anxiety  to  be  away  from  him  ?  her  chafing  at  the 
threatened  delay  of  a  day  in  her  flight  back  to  the  only 
real  home  she  had  ever  known  ?  Was  the  memory  of 
the  evanescent  phantasy  of  her  girlhood — the  brief  space 
during  which  she  had  deluded  herself  into  the  belief 
that  she  loved  him,  so  sore  and  hateful  that  she  would 
shun  the  sight  of  one  who  kept  it  in  constant  remem 
brance  ?  Could  it  be  true  that  he  had,  in  the  face  of 
these  frightful  odds,  cherished  a  hope  that  he  might  yet 
persuade  her  into  a  preference  for  his  companionship? 

A  loud  ring  at  the  door-bell  startled  him  into  con 
sciousness  of  the  hour  and  place.  Phoabe  had  gone  up 
to  bed,  and  Mr.  Fordham  went  himself  to  admit  the  un 
seasonable  visitor. 

"  Good-evening !  "  said  a  familiar  voice  when  the  door 
was  unclosed,  and  Dr.  Baxter  walked  in  as  naturally  and 
coolly  as  if  it  were  not  ten  o'clock  at  night,  and  he 
plentifully  besprinkled  with  rain.  "  I  was  out  thinking 


368 

-and  walking,  after  the  warm  day — and  chancing  to 
observe  that  I  was  at  your  door,  I  stopped  to  say  ;  Good 
bye'  to  the  lassie — to  your  wife.  Mrs.  Baxter  men 
tioned  to-night,  at  tea,  that  she  was  going  to  Dundee  to 
morrow." 

He  had  obeyed  Roy's  impulse  in  the  direction  of  the 
sitting-room,  but  declined  to  take  a  chair.  Ilis  cravat 
was  a  damp  string ;  the  handkerchief  twisted  about  his 
left  hand  bore  marks  of  terrific  usage,  and  when  he  re 
moved  his  hat,  every  one  of  his  stiff  gray  hairs  appeared 
to  have  gone  into  business  on  its  own  account,  so  distinct 
was  its  independent  existence.  His  eyes  were  like  those 
<•£  a  partially  awakened  somnambulist,  and  his  voice  had 
dreamy  inflections.  Had  his  own  mood  been  less  sad, 
Roy  must  ha\7e  smiled  at  the  grotesque  apparition,  un 
couth  even  to  one  so  familiar  with  the  peculiarities  of  the 
good  man,  as  was  his  coadjutor  in  the  business  of  his 
life.  As  it  was,  lie  appreciated  gratefully  the  love  the 
old  scholar  bore  his  former  ward,  and  the  new  proof  of 
this,  evinced  by  his  stepping  without  the  charmed  circle 
of  metaphysical  or  scientific  lucubrations  to  pay  this,  for 
him,  rare  visit  of  neighborly  courtesy  and  affectionate 
interest. 

"  I  am  sorry  Jessie  has  retired,"  he  said,  sincerely. 
"  She  would  have  been  happy  to  see  you.  But,  in  view 
of  to-morrow's  journey,  she  went  up  to  her  chamber  an 
hour  ago.  I  am  afraid  she  is  asleep  by  this  time." 

The  doctor  shook  himself  out  of  a  menacing  relapse. 

"Eh!  asleep — is  she?  Ah,  well !  that  is  as  it  should 
be.  Don't  disturb  her !  I  merely  called  to  kiss  her,  and 
bid  her  '  God  speed.'  She  is  a  dear  and  a  good  girl. 
Her  price  is  above  rubies.  She  carries  our  love  and  best 


JESSAMINE. 

wishes  with  her  into  her  retirement.  Since  she  is  not 
up,  I  will  leave  mj  message  with  you.  I  believe — it 
seems  to  me  that  I  had  a  message  " — with  an  ominoua 
twitch  of  the  handkerchief,  arid  a  dreamier  accent. 

"  She  will  appreciate  your  kind  remembrance  of  her, 
sir.  She  prizes  your  friendship  very  fondly." 

"  Ah  !  "  another  mental  shoulder-jog.  "  We  shall 
hardly  see  her  again  until  autumn,  I  presume?  I  infer 
as  much  from  what  Mrs.  Baxter  has  told  me  of  her 
plans." 

"  There  has  been  no  definite  time  set  for  her  return," 
said  Hoy,  evasively,  his  heart  heavier  than  before  at  the 
thought  that  Jessie  had  expressed  to  her  cousin  a  desire 
for  a  long  sojourn  in  the  country. 

Yet  if  he  had  failed  to  keep  her  with  him  now,  what 
warrant  had  he  for  confidence  in  his  ability  to  lure  her 
back? 

"You  will  be  lonely  without  her!"  the  worthy  Presi 
dent  observed,  something  in  the  atmosphere  of  this,  her 
especial  apartment,  conveying  to  his  straying  writs  an  in 
distinct  perception  of  the  void  her  absence  would  make 
in  the  daily  life  of  the  man  before  him.  In  his  own  way, 
he  missed  his  restless  and  faithful  Jane  when  she  was 
not  at  home. 

"  I  shall !  " 

Not  another  word  before  the  lips  were  closely  sealed. 

The  doctor  looked  at  him  quickly  and  keenly,  then 
put  out  his  hand  to  pat  his  shoulder. 

"  Keep  up  a  brave  heart,  my  lad  !  although  the  desire 

of  your  eyes  be  removed  from  your  side,  for  a  few  weeks. 

Nothing   cheats  time  of  heaviness,  like  work  and  hope. 

One  you  will  find  here  in  your  accustomed  avocations 

10* 


370  JESSAMINE. 

The  second  will  culminate  in  fruition  when  you  are  re 
united  to  her  you  love,  and,  please  GOD — in  the  blessed 
ness  of  a  father's  love  and  delight,  when  your  firstborn  is 
given  into  your  arms.  It  is  a  joy  HE  has  seen  fit  to  deny 
me.  I  shall  take  my  name  down  into  the  grave  with  me. 
His  will  be  done  !  But  I  have  not,  on  that  account,  the 
less  sympathy  with  you  at  this  juncture.  Say  to  our  Jes 
sie  that  our  prayers  will  follow  her.  You  will  go  to  her 
at  the  beginning  of  vacation, of  course.  And  should  you 
v/ish  to  run  down  to  Dundee,  for  a  day  or  two,  each 
week  during  the  remainder  of  term-time,  I  will  gladly 
take  your  classes.  You  can  recompense  me  by  letting 
me  christen  the  heir" — a  fatherly  smile  overspreading 
the  dry  face.  "  The  advent  is  expected  towards  the  last 
of  July,  Mrs.  Baxter  says." 

Conscious  that,  in  the  drunkenness  of  his  astonishment, 
he  returned  a  lame  and  seemingly  ungracious  reply  to 
offer  and  congratulations,  Roy  made  no  movement  to  de 
tain  the  eccentric  guest,  when  he,  after  another  dazed 
look  around  the  apartment,  as  if  wondering  how  he  had 
got  there,  espied  the  door,  and  approached  it  with  the 
briefest  of  "  Good-nights."  While  the  master  of  the 
house  stood  rooted  to  the  floor,  the  visitant  accomplished 
his  exit,  unchallenged  and  unattended.  Another  man 
would  have  taken  mortal  offence  at  the  lack  of  respectful 
ceremony.  The  doctor,  in  his  semi-trance,  had  not  an 
idea  of  the  commotion  he  had  excited. 

"  I  am  not  surprised  that  I  am  an  offence  in  her  eyes — 
that  she  must  accuse  me  in  her  heart,  of  being  less  than 
man,"  muttered  the  husband,  at  length,  passing  a  shaking 
hand  over  his  pale  forehead.  "  She  ought  to  hate  me  for 
my  seeming  indifference — my  unfeeling  silence.  She 


JESSAMINE.  371 

would  if  she  were  not  an  angel.  My  poor  girl !  And 
blie  lisa  borne  it  all,  without  a  murmur ;  like  the  brave, 
true  woman  she  is.  GOD  forgive  me!  I  can  never  par 
don  myself ! " 

He  was  sitting,  his  arms  crossed  upon  the  table,  and  his 
head  laid  upon  them,  when  Jessie  glided  in  stealthily. 
Over  her  white  wrapper  she  had  thrown  a  crimson  shawl, 
and  her  long  hair  was  loose  upon  her  shoulders.  What 
ever  resolve  had  drained  her  cheeks  and  lips  of  bloom, 
and  lighted  the  steady  flame  in  her  eyes,  had  been  acted 
upon  with  precipitancy,  lest  her  nerve  should  fail. 

She  halted  upon  the  threshold,  on  seeing  the  bowed 
figure;  then  advanced  more  rapidly,  but  without  noise. 

"  Roy  !  are  you  awake  ?  " 

"  Yes." 

But  he  did  not  lift  his  face. 

"  Are  you  sick  ? " 

"No!" 

"  Can  you  listen  to  me  for  a  few  minutes  ? " 

"  As  long  as  you  wish." 

His  voice  was  hollow  and  tremulous  to  plaintiveness ; 
but  she  took  heart  from  its  exceeding,  if  mournful,  gentle 
ness. 

"  I  cannot  sleep  to-night,"  she  commenced,  hurriedly, 
"  still  less  can  I  leave  you  to-morrow,  without  expressing 
to  you,  however  feebly,  my  sense  of  the  goodness  and 
mercy  you  have  showed  me  from  the  hour  I  entered  this 
house,  until  now.  I  may  have  appeared  unobservant  and 
unthankful ;  may  have  seemed  to  accept  your  benefits  as 
if  they  were  my  due,  when,  in  reality,  I  was  unworthy  of 
the  least  of  them  all ;  but  it  was  because  I  did  not  know 
in  what  form  to  express  my  gratitude.  If,  in  my  acqui- 


372  JESSAMINE. 

cscence  in  your  proposal  that  I  should  go  to  my  sister  for 
a  season,  I  have  used  few  words ;  have  not  thanked  you 
for  this  fresh  proof  of  your  delicate  watchfulness  over 
my  comfort  and  happiness,  I  beg  you  to  attribute  my 
shortcomings  to  other  reasons  than  insensibility  or  miscon 
struction  of  your  motives.  I  was  entirely  unprepared  for 
the  suggestion.  It  was  a  shock  to  me,  because  I  had 
dared  to  believe  that  you  would  see  fit  to  let  me  remain 
here  with  you  until  vacation,  when  we  could  go  to  Dun 
dee  together." 

Standing  on  the  other  side  of  the  table,  she  saw  a 
slight  but  eager  change  in  the  expression  of  the  mute 
form.  It  was  as  if  his  hearing  were  strained  for  her  next 
utterance,  but  the  features  were  still  concealed. 

On  the  roof  of  the  bay-window,  the  soft,  large  drops  of 
the  April  shower  were  beginning  to  fall  in  musical 
whispers. 

Jessie  put  out  a  hand  upon  the  marble  top  of  the  table 
to  steady  herself,  as  she  resumed.  There  was  that  in  this 
continued  silence  that  awed  and  made  her  incoherent. 
It  was  unlike  Roy's  usual  reception  of  her  advances — his 
ready  and  indulgent  courtesy.  Her  heart  beat  pain 
fully  and  fast,  but  she  did  not  swerve  from  her  resolu 
tion. 

"  I  know  you  so  well — your  purity  of  purpose ;  the 
standard  of  excellence  you  set  for  your  motive  and  deed  ; 
your  earnest  desire  to  make  me  happy — that  I  fear  you 
will,  when  I  am  gone,  accuse  yourself  of  want  of  skill  or 
judgment  in  your  treatment  of  me.  I  want  you  to  re 
member  then,  that  I  broke  through  the  reserve  we  have 
-  ided  one  another  to  maintain,  to  assure  you  that,  in  no 
one  particular  would  I  have  had  your  action  different 


JESSAMINE.  373 

from  what  it  has  been — that,  in  language  and  demeanor 
you  have  been  alike  noble.  Deserving  your  reprobation, 
I  have  received  tender  respect ;  having  forfeited  by  ray 
fickleness  and  falsehood  all  claim  to  kindness,  I  have 
been  cherished  as  the  truest  wife  in  the  land  might  hope 
to  be.  Something  tells  me  that,  when  we  part  to-morrow, 
it  will  be  to  meet  no  more  in  time.  It  may  be  that  the 
presentiment  is  born  of  my  distempered  imagination  ; 
but  it  has  drawn  my  whole  soul  out  in  a  longing  I  cannot 
frame  into  speech,  to  be  at  peace  with  you ;  to  feel  your 
hand  again  upon  my  head  ;  to  hear  you  call  me  once — 
just  once  more,  by  the  holy  name  of  Wife  ! 

"  For  I  ani  your  wife,  Roy  !  Unworthy  as  I  am  of  the 
title,  it  is  the  only  glory  I  have.  Until  yesterday,  1  had 
dreamed  of  saying  this  to  you  in  very  different  language 
and  circumstances.  It  is  just  that  this  expectation  should 
be  disappointed.  I  do  not  appeal  from  my  sentence  of 
exile.  But,  by  the  memory  of  the  love  you  once  had  for 
me — and  I  was  full  of  faults  then  as  now — do  not  send 
me  away,  unforgiven,  &n.d  starving  for  your  affection — my 
husband ! " 

When  he  looked  up,  she  was  kneeling  at  his  side,  her 
eyes  streaming  with  the  tears  that  had  impeded  her  utter 
ance. 

Still  dumbly,  he  drew  her  to  him ;  put  back  the  hair 
from  her  face,  every  line  of  his  own  astir  with  a  passion 
of  pity  and  adoration  she  hardly  dared  to  look  upon.  It 
was  a  minute  before  he  could  articulate.  Then  the  tense 
lips  were  moved  into  womanly  softness. 

'  You  can  forgive  me,  then,  my  Wife  !    Thank  GOD  !" 

He  laid  his  cheek  to  hers,  and  she  felt  the  great  sobs  of 
the  breast  against  which  she  leaned 


374 


JESSAMINE. 


But  for  a  long  time,  there  was  nothing  more  said. 

Except  by  the  rain-drops  whispering  over  their 
broken,  now  and  then,  by  the  wind  into  little  gushes  that 
Bounded  like  laughter,  Sappy  to  tearfulness. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

N  the  plenitude  of  her  cousinly  compassion  for  the 
lonely  husband,  Mrs.  Baxter  coaxed  her  spouse 
into  escorting  her  to  Mr.  Fordham's,  on  Thursday 
evening.  The  wind  had  settled  into  an  easterly 
gale,  after  yesterday's  genial  warmth  ;  the  day 
had  been  unpleasant,  and  the  clouds  were  still  dripping 
at  irregular  intervals,  as  if  wrung  by  impatient  hands. 

"  But  it  is  an  act  of  common  humanity  to  visit  the  poor 
fellow  in  his  solitude,  my  dear,  while  his  desolation  is 
fresh  upon  him  !  "  she  sighed,  sympathetically. 

"Mr.  Fordham  was  in  the  library,"  said  Phoabe,  with 
an  air  of  bewilderment  at  the  lady's  query,  and  to  the 
library  the  consoler  accordingly  tripped,  with  footfall  of 
down,  and  countenance  robed  in  decorous  and  becoming 
pensiveness. 

Her  light  tap  was  unanswered,  but  uncertain  of  this, 
she  took  the  benefit  of  the  doubt,  and  entering  bounc- 
ingly,  as  was  her  habit,  she  surprised  Jessie,  sitting  upon 


376  JESSAMINE. 

her  husband's  knee,  one  hand  buried  in  his  hair,  tho 
other  clutching  his  beard,  in  a  fashion  at  once  undigni 
fied  and  saucy.  Both  were  laughing  so  heartily  that 
their  neglect  of  the  warning  knock  was  explained. 

When  the  confusion  of  mutual  explanations  was  over, 
Mrs.  Baxter  learned,  to  her  amazement,  that  the  journey 
t<>  Dundee  was  postponed  until  after  the  College  Com 
mencement. 

"  I  wouldn't  go  when  I  found  that  Roy  wanted  to  get 
rid  of  me  ! "  said  the  transformed  wife.  "  When  I  put 
him  into  the  confessional,  he  owned  who  was  his  fellow- 
conspirator  in  the  scheme  for  my  banishment.  For  shame, 
Cousin  Jane  !  I  have  long  suspected  you  of  a  weakness 
for  the  handsome  Professor,  but  you  sit  convicted  of  a 
deliberate  attempt  to  remove  him  from  the  guardianship 
of  his  legal  protector,  that  your  designs  upon  his  affec 
tions  might  be  more  vigorously  prosecuted.  And  no 
sooner  do  you  suppose  that  the  coast  is  clear,  than  you  pre 
sent  yourself,  arrayed  in  your  best  dress  and  choicest 
smiles,  and  with  actually  a  rose-bud  in  your  brooch !  to 
make  sure  of  your  game.  I  shall  never  trust  in  human 
friendship  again !  " 

"You  are  ungenerous  to  triumph  over  me  so  openly — 
and  in  the  poor,  dear  doctor's  hearing ! "  returned  her 
cousin,  holding  her  fan  before  her  face,  with  a  theatrical 
show  of  detected  guilt. 

"  I  ought  to  have  some  compensation  for  the  excruciat 
ing  anguish  the  discovery  cost  me,"  retorted  Jessie 
"  Tongue  cannot  describe  the  tremendous  struggle  I  went 
through  before  I  could  bring  myself  to  undertake  the  in 
vestigation  of  your  perfidy  and  his  susceptibility.  I 
know  just  how  Esther  felt  when  she  screwed  her  courage 


JESSAMINE.  377 

to  the  sticking-point,  and  made  np  her  mind  and  her 
toilette  to  face  Ahasuerus  and  a  possible  gallows." 

Hoy  was  pretending  to  listen  to  the  doctor's  elaborate 
disquisition  upon  an  important  political  question,  but  he 
stole  a  sidelong  glance  at  the  sparkling  face,  across  the 
hearth,  and  smiled,  in  gladness  of  content. 

She  was  his  blithe,  lovesome  witch  again.  The  baleful 
enchantment  that  had  ensnared  her  fancy  and  distracted 
her  thoughts  from  dwelling  upon  him  and  his  love — (he 
refused  to  believe  that  he  had  ever  lost  her  heart) — was 
destroyed,  and,  by  him.  remembered  no  more  as  a  thing 
of  dread.  More  to  spare  him  pain  than  to  shield  Orrin, 
Jessie  had  not  entered  into  the  particulars  of  her 
estrangement,  or  revealed  who  was  the  prime  agent  in 
bringing  it  about.  Wyllys'  name  was  not  mentioned  by 
either. 

"I  had  a  bad,  wild  dream — "  she  thus  explained  her 
defection.  "  A  dream  that  made  me  doubt  you — Heaven 
— myself — everything !  that  robbed  me  of  love  and  hope, 
with  faith.  I  was  susceptible,  giddy,  undisciplined  ;  and 
I  was  grievously  tempted  by  an  evil  spirit.  Maybe" — 
humbly — "  I  am  no  better  or  wiser  now  ;  but  I  am  ready 
and  thankful  to  give  myself  up  to  your  guidance.  I 
ought  to  be  a  good  woman  in  future ;  for  I  have  been 
dealt  with  very  tenderly  by  my  Heavenly  Father —  and 
by  you,  my  best  earthly  friend  ! " 

Roy  had  no  fear.  His  second  wooing  was,  he  felt, 
crowned  with  richer,  more  enduring  success  than  the 
first  had  been.  lie  cared  not  to  ask,  or  to  conjecture  by 
what  art  his  image  had  been  clouded  over,  since  he  saw 
it  now  clearly  mirrored  in  a  heart  tried  by  refining  fires. 

The  christening  feast  was  not  held  until  December,  at 


378  JESSAMINE. 

which  date  Master  Kirke  Lanneau  Fordham  was  four 
montlis  old. 

Eunice  had  taken  her  school  and  cottage  for  a  year, 
and  the  interesting  fete  could  not  be  appointed  until  she 
could  make  her  arrangements  to  be  with  her  sister. 
"Work  for  the  good  of  others,  and  wholesome  meditation, 
had  brought  to  her,  as  they  must  to  all  healthy,  Gon- 
fearing  souls,  healing  and  peace  during  the  montlis  she 
had  spent  in  her  new  domicile.  With  the  June  vacation 
had  come  Jessie  and  her  husband ;  and  when  the  little 
claimant  upon  their  love  and  care  arrived,  the  lonely 
woman,  who  had  put  thoughts  of  her  own  wifehood  and 
maternity  from  her  forever,  when  she  turned  the  key 
upon  the  souvenirs  of  her  one  love  dream,  opened  her 
heart  and  took  in,  with  the  babe,  comfort  and  hope  that 
were,  to  her,  fresh  and  beautiful  life.  What  Roy's 
arguments  and  Jessie's  entreaties  could  not  accomplish, 
the  innocent  young  eyes  and  clinging  baby-fingers 
effected  within  a  month  after  her  nephew's  birth.  If 
Kirke  went  to  Hamilton,  she  would  follow,  she  promised, 
and  early  December  saw  her  domesticated  in  the  Ford- 
ham  household. 

"  I  wish  Ori'in  Wyllys  and  his  wife  were  not  coming, 
this  evening  !  "  said  Jessie,  confidentially,  to  her  sister,  as 
they  were  arraying  the  boy  for  the  grand  -occasion. 

Eunice  looked  in  no  wise  surprised  at  the  impetuous 
exclamation,  albeit  it  was  the  first  avowal  of  dislike  of 
Hoy's  relative  she  had  ever  heard  from  Jessie's  lips. 

"  It  would  not  have  been  expedient  to  omit  them  from 
your  list  of  invitations,  my  dear !  "  she  returned,  with  her 
slow,  bright  smile.  "  For  Roy's  sake,  you  must  disguise 
your  antip  ithy." 


JESSAMINE.  379 

"  Antipathy  isn't  too  strong  a  word,  Euna  !  You  can 
not  understand  what  reason  I  have  to  distrust  that  man ! 
to  despise  both  himself  and  his  wife !  And  the  debut  of 
Papa's  boy  ought  to  be  all  brightness  to  Mamma !  "  sus 
pending  the  process  of  the  toilette  to  strangle  him  with 
caresses. 

"  He  cannot  hurt  you  now,  love.  Even  poisonous 
breath  soon  passes  from  finely-tempered  steel." 

The  look  and  tone  silenced  the  other.     Eunice's  insight 

o 

of  the  tempter's  true  character  was  deeper  than  she  had 
imagined.  Even  she  never  dreamed  how,  and  at  what 
cost,  the  knowledge  was  gained. 

Miss  Kirke  was  an  attractive  feature  of  the  assembly 
that  night.  Many  thought  her  handsomer  than  her  more 
lively  sister.  There  was  not  one  present  who  would  not 
have  ridiculed  the  idea  of  a  comparison  between  her 
classic  beauty  and  Mrs.  Wyllys'  shrewish  physiognomy. 
Once,  the  two  ladies  talked  together  for  five  minutes, 
near  the  centre  of  the  front  parlor,  the  light  from  the 
chandelier  streaming  on  both.  Eunice  was  dressed  with 
her  usual  just  taste,  in  a  lustreless  mourning  silk,  a  tiny 
illusion  ruff  enhancing  the  fairness  of  neck  and  face, 
her  abundant  hair  arranged  simply  without  ornament. 
She  possessed  the  rare  accomplishment  of  standing  still 
without  stiffness,  and  no  nervous  play  of  fingers  or  feat 
ures  marred  the  exquisite  repose  of  her  bearing,  as  she 
listened  to  or  replied  to  her  companion. 

Hester  was  in  the  full  glory  of  brocade,  diamonds,  and 
point  lace,  with  French  flowers  twisted  in  her  pale 
tresses,  and. trailing  bramble- wise  down  her  back.  She 
fidgeted  incessantly  ;  her  skin  was  muddy  with  bilious 
ness  and  discontent ;  she  perked  her  faint  eyebrows  into 


380  JESSAMINE. 

a  fiown,  every  other  minute  ;  her  laugh  was  forced,  and 
the  viscid  tones  had  a  twang  of  pain  or  ill-humor.  She 
was  getting  very  tired  of  keeping  np  the  appearance  of 
conjugal  felicity  with  so  little  assistance  from  her  lord; 
growing  bitterly  conscious  of  the  motives  that  had  inx-j 
polled  him  to  the  uncongenial  marriage,  and  disposed  tql 
eye  jealously  every  woman  to  whom  he  paid  the  most" 
trifling  attention. 

"  I  suppose  you  are  baby-mad,  like  the  rest  ?  "  she  said, 
pulling  viciously  at  the  golden  chain  of  her  bouquet*;, 
holder.  "  1  am  in  a  deplorable  minority  here,  to-night. 
Christening-parties  are  always  a  bore  to  me.  I  am  so 
sincere,  you  know,  so  apt  to  say  what  I  think,  that  I  can 
never  go  into  raptures  over  the  little  monkeys,  as  every-, 
body  else  does.  I  presume,  now,  that  it  is  considered^ 
rather  a  nice  child — if  there  is  such  a  thing — isn't  it?  " 

"  We  think  him  a  noble  little  fellow ;  but  we  do  no& 
require  the  rest  of  the  world  to  agree  with  us,"  replied 
Eunice,  with  unruffled  politeness. 

"I  detest  children!  just  perfectly  abominate  babies  I 
I  wouldn't  have  one  for  a  kingdom.  And  Orrin  lovew 
his  own  ease  too  much  to  want  them.  He  is  an  awfiify 
hypocrite,  Miss  Kirke.  You  were  very  wise  not  to  gewj 
married.  He  can't  abide  children" — raising  her  voice—*- 
"  although  he  is  making  a  fool  of  himself  over  that  bun 
dle  of  lace,  lawn,  and  flannel  yonder." 

Eunice,  inwardly  provoked  at  the  irreverent  and  in 
elegant  description  of  the  royal  cherub,  could  yet  respond, 
with  apparent  composure. 

"  lie  does  it  from  a  sense  of  duty,  or  a  desire  to  please, 
probably." 

She  followed  the  direction  of  the  wife's  scornful  eyea. 


JESSAMINE.  38J 

The  folding  doors  were  open,  and  through  the  arch. 
way,  they  had  a  view  of  the  mother,  tempting  her  boy 
with  a  flower  she  had  taken  from  a  bouquet,  near  by, 
laughing  at  his  open  mouth,  starting  eyes,  and  fluttering 
arms,  as  he  tried  to  seize  it.  Orrin  had  approached  hoi- 
while  his  wife  was  speaking  to  Eunice  ;  accosted  her  be 
fore  she  was  aware  of  his  vicinity.  His  remark,  deliv- 
3red  with  his  most  insinuating  smile,  and  in  his  inimita 
ble  manner,  was  evidently  a  compliment  to  the  beauty  of 
he  child  ;  but  she  met  it  with  lightness  bordering  upon 
contempt.  Dropping  the  flower,  she  lifted  the  babe  from 
!iis  temporary  throne  on  the  stuffed  back  of  an  easy  chair, 
ind  walked  away. 

Mrs.  Wyllys  tittered  shrilly,  and  clapped  her  hands. 

"  A  decided  rebuff ! "  she  sneered,  more  loudly  than 
;ood  breeding  would  have  counselled.  "  It  is  strange, 
Miss  Kirke,  that  your  lady-killer  is  so  slow  to  learn  the 
uortifying  fact  that  he  ceases  to  be  irresistible  when  he 
las  been  guilty  of  the  mistake  of  matrimony." 

Orrin,  nervously  sensitive  to  her  tones,  heard  and  saw 
ler,  while  he  affected  to  do  neither ;  saw,  likewise,  by 
vhom  she  was  standing,  and  that  she  showed  beside  her 
ieighbor  as  a  tawdry,  artificial  rose,  faded  and  tumbled, 
Iocs  when  near  a  stately,  living  lily. 

Seeing  and  admitting  all  this,  he  heaved  an  inaudible 
igh  that  did  not  touch  his  eyes  or  chasten  his  careless 
mile.  His  inward  moan  was  not — "Me  miserable!" 
>r  "  Fool  that  I  was  !  "  or  anything  else  poetical  or  tragic  ; 
ut— "  If  I  could  have  afforded  it ! " 

"  The  fair  Etina  will  wear  better  than  mio,  caret,  sposa!  " 
e  owned,  candidly.  "  But  money  outlasts  beauty,  and 
i  more  necessary  to  a  man's  happiness.  Love  is  only  a 


382  JESSAMINE 

luxury ;  an  indulgence  too  costly  for  the  enjoyment  of 
most  wedded  pairs.  Beryl  eyes  and  a  Greek  profile  would 
not  have  paid  my  debts,  nor  the  future  claims  of  carriage 
makers,  and  horse-jockeys,  and  yacht-builders.  No !  I 
have  done  all  that  man  could,  in  the  like  circumstances. 
Better  bread  buttered  on  both  sides  by  Hester,  than  a  dry 
slice  with  Eunice." 

He  owed  Miss  Kirke  no  grudge ;  found  placid  satis 
faction  in  reviewing  their  intercourse,  akin  to  that  he  ex 
perienced  in  the  contemplation  of  a  fine,  mezzo-tinto  en 
graving  or  a  moonlit  landscape.  But  Jessie  irritated  and 
piqued  him.  If  her  gay  insensibility  were  bravado,  he 
would  yet  make  her  drop  the  mask.  His  wife  was  right 
in  affirming  that  the  passion  for  conquest  was  not  extinct 
after  a  year  of  married  bliss. 

"  She  did  worship  me  in  those  days !  "  he  ruminated. 
"  Worshipped  me  madly  and  entirely,  as  men  are  seldom 
loved,  as  few  women  are  capable  of  loving.  Does  she 
take  me  for  an  idiot  in  supposing  that  I  credit  the 
thoroughness  of  her  cure ! " 

Lounging  in  a  desultory  way  through  the  rooms,  bowing 
to  this,  and  exchanging  a  pleasant  word  with  that  one  of 
the  friends  collected  to  do  honor  to  the  infant  scion  of 
the  house,  he  contrived  to  waylay  Jessie  in  the  hall.  She 
had  transferred  the  baby  to  the  nurse's  care,  and  was  re 
turning  to  her  guests.  A  fierce  impulse  possessed  him  as 
he  marked  her  happy  face,  flushed  by  excitement  into 
loveliness  that  had  never  been  hers  in  her  girlhood.  She 
was  passing  him  with  a  slight  and  nonchalant  bow,  when 
he  arrested  her. 

"  Can  I  speak  with  you  for  a  moment  ? " 


JESSAMINE.  333 

"Now?"  she  said,  dubiously,  looking  toward  the 
parlors  crowded  with  company. 

u  Now !  I  can  wait  no  longer !  Is  any  one  in  the 
library  ? " 

Before  she  could  reply,  he  had  pushed  the  door  back, 
and  led  her  in.  The  room  was  not  needed  for  the  use  of 
the  guests,  and  was  urilighted  except  by  the  low  fire  in  the 
grate. 

"  I  will  light  the  gas ! "  said  Jessie,  trying  to  withdraw 
her  hand  from  his  clutch. 

He  tightened  the  grasp.  It  is  said  that  every  man  is  a 
savao-e  at  some  time  of  his  life.  The  brutish  devil  was 

o 

rampant  now  in  the  polished  citizen  of  the  world,  the  in 
dolent  epicure.  If  he  were  ever  to  regain  his  lost  influ 
ence,  it  must  be  by  a,  coup  d^etat — by  threats,  rather  than 
flattery.  He  would  show  her  what  she  risked  in  attempt 
ing  to  dupe  and  foil  him.  A  desperate  expedient,  but 
the  case  was  not  a  hopeful  one. 

"  What  affectation  of  prudery  is  this  ? "  he  asked, 
roughly.  "  Time  was  when  you  were  less  scrupulous  about 
granting  me  interviews  in  the  firelight.  Do  you  imagine, 
silly  child,  that  your  overacted  farce  of  wifely  devotion 
blinds  me  as  it  does  the  fools  you  have  called  together  to 
night  to  witness  this  pretty  display  of  domestic  felicity  ? 
Or  " — his  tone  changing  suddenly — "  that  any  amount  of 
coldness  and  cruelty  can  extinguish  my  love  for  you  ? 
the  love  you  once  confessed — in  my  arms — was  recipro 
cated  by  yourself,  then  the  betrothed  of  him,  who  now 
believes  you  to  be  his  loyal  consort  ?  You  have  found  it 
an  easy  task  to  deceive  him,  because  it  is  not  in  him  tc 
worship  you  as  I  do.  You  may  struggle  to  escape  from 
rne,  but  you  know  I  am  speaking  the  truth,  and  leaving 


384:  JESSAMINE. 

half  of  it  untold.  Don't  drive  me  to  distraction,  Jessie  ! 
or  I  shall  divulge  that  which  your  husband,  with  all  his 
phlegmatic  philosophy,  may  resent.  Resent,  possibly, 
upon  me— certainly  upon  you — in  treatment  you  will  iind 
it  hard  to  bear.  I  have  warned  you  before,  that  generous 
forgiveness  of  an  offence  to  his  dignity  and  self-love  is  a 
height  of  virtue  unknown  to  Roy  Fordham.  I  warn  you 
that  you  are  dealing  with  a  desperate,  because  a  miserable 
man  !  " 

"  This  is  a  specimen  of  the  superior  manliness,  the 
lofty  magnanimity  you  vaunt  as  your  characteristics — is 
it?" 

She  had  wrested  her  hand  from  him.  The  faint,  red 
glare  revealed  the  outlines  of  a  figure  drawn  up  to  its 
full  height,  and  instinct  with  anger  and  defiance.  The 
clear  accents  were  stiiiirino;  hailstones. 

o       o 

"  I  am  not  afraid  of  you,  if  I  do  shrink  from  your 
touch.  I  am  glad  you  have  given  me  this  opportunity  to 
say  what  you  ought  to  know.  You  played  upon  my  inex 
perience  and  loneliness,  when  I  was  committed — a  too 
trustful  child — to  your  care  by  my  betrothed  and  my 
father.  You  tampered  with  my  active  imagination  and 
my  credulity,  until  you  wrought  in  my  mind  false  and 
florid  views  of  life  ;  and  when  your  train  was  ready  to 
be  fired,  insinuated  suspicions — which  you  knew  wera 
groundless ! — of  Roy  Fordham's  honor,  and  his  fidelity  tc 
me." 

"  I  suggested  no  suspicions !  "  he  interrupted. 

"  You  nourished  the  germs  planted  by  Hester  Sanford's 
slander.  And  when  I  did  not  know  where,  or  upon  what 
I  stood ;  when  my  brain  was  teeming  with  unhealthy 
fancies  and  my  heart  sick  with  fever  and  thirst,  you 


JESSAMINE.  385 

offered  me  what  you  called  love — dragged  from  me  the 
admission  that  it  was  returned." 

"  Since  perfect  frankness  is  the  order  of  the  day,  allow 
me  to  observe  that  the  'dragging'  was  not  a  difficult 
process  ! "  interjected  "Wyllys,  offensively. 

"  I  am  willing  to  allow  your  amendment — if  you  will 
consent  to  have  me  repeat  this  story  in  detail  to  all  who 
are  assembled  in  the  other  room,"  she  returned,  undaunted. 
"  I  should  enjoy  the  task,  because  it  would  pave  the  way 
for  an  avowal  I  should  exult  in  proclaiming  to  the  uni 
verse.  It  is  that  I  value  the  least  hair  of  my  husband's 
head  more  than  I  ever  did  you — body,  soul,  and  what  you 
denominate  as  your  heart ;  that  I  had  rather  serve  him 
as  a  bond-slave,  and  never  receive  a  word  or  glance  of 
affection,  if  I  might  live  near  and  for  him — than  to  reign 
an  Empress  at  your  side ;  that  I  never  comprehend  the 
height,  depth  and  fulness  of  his  condescension  and  love 
at  any  other  time  as  when  I  reflect  that  these  are  bestowed 
upon  a  woman  who  was  once  misled  into  the  conviction 
that  you  were  a  true  man,  and  that  she  cared  for  you.  I 
stand  ready  to  say  all  this — and  more.  I  am  no  weak 
^irl,  now,  to  be  terrified  by  bugbears.  There  is  a  per- 
fectness,  even  of  human  love,  that  casteth  out  fear.  You 
forget  this  when  you  threaten  me  with  my  husband's 
displeasure." 

She  laughed,  and  all  the  corners  of  the  quiet  room 
caught  up  the  mirthful  echoes. 

"  Why,  if  Roy  stood  where  you  do,  I  could  tell  him  all 
you  have  said,  without  a  blush  or  tremor.  That  I  have 
never  done  this,  you  owe  to  my  reluctance  to  betray  to 
him  the  baseness  of  one  in  whose  veins  runs  the  same 
blood  as  in  his.  I  would  spare  him  the  pain  and  shame 
17 


386  JESSAMINE. 

of  seeing  you  for  what  you  are.  But  I  wish  he  knew 
everything ! " 

"  I  think  he  does ! " 

Vv^hile  she  was  speaking,  a  shape  had  loomed  into  mo 
tion  from  a  recess  formed  by  two  bookcases  at  the  f urther 
end  of  the  library,  and  was  now  at  her  side.  As  her  hus 
band's  voice  greeted  her  astonished  ears,  she  felt  his  sup 
porting  arm  about  her. 

"  Hush,  my  darling !  "  he  said,  at  her  stifled  scream. 
"I  came  in  for  a  book  just  before  you  entered.  After 
hearing  Mr.  Wyllys'  preliminary  remark  I  thought  it  best 
to  let  you  vindicate  yourself  without  my  help.  Not  that 
I  needed  to  hear  your  justification,  but  I  meant  that  he 
should.  We  will  go  back  to  our  friends,  now.  Shall  I 
tell  Mrs,  Wyllys  that  you  are  waiting  to  take  her  home  ?  " 
to  Orrin. 

"  If  you  please,"  was  the  equally  formal  reply. 

A  week  later,  Selina  Bradley  brought  Mrs.  Baxter  a 
piece  of  startling  news. 

"  It  is  certainly  true !  "  she  insisted,  as  the  other  looked 
her  incredulity.  "The  house  and  furniture  are  offered 
for  sale.  It  is  very  doubtful  when  they  will  return. 
They  may  reside  abroad  for  years — take  up  their  perma 
nent  abode  in  Paris.  Mr.  Wyllys  affects  to  treat  the  plan 
as  one  they  have  been  considering  this  great  while,  but 
there  are  queer  stories  afloat.  Hester  is  indiscreet,  you 
know.  They  had  a  violent  scene  in  the  hearing  of  the 
servants  on  their  return  from  the  Fordhams'  christening 
party.  The  most  unlikely,  but  a  popular,  rumor  is  that 
Hester  was  furiously  jealous  of  her  husband's  attentions 
to  Jessie,  or  her  sister,  that  night.  She  threatened  to 


JESSAMINE.   •  337 

leave  him,  and  go  home  to  her  father,  unless  he  would 
take  his  oath  never  to  speak  to  either  of  them  again." 

"  You  may  well  say  *  unlikely  ! '  "  Mrs.  Baxter  said, 
eyeing  the  doctor  apprehensively,  as  he  sat  up  to  his  eye 
brows  in  a  book  at  a  distant  window.  "  They  are  going 
to  Paris,  you  say  ? " 

The  doctor  had  lowered  his  volume,  let  go  his  cravat, 
and  pushed  up  his  spectacles. 

"  So  Uester  says,  and  is  in  ecstasies  (apparently)  at  the 
prospect.  As  for  Mr.  Wyllys,  he  professes  to  think 
American  society  a  very  wishy-washy  affair  compared 
with  Parisian  circles." 

"  Humph !  "  snorted  the  doctor.  "  They  could  not 
choose  more  wisely  and  consistently.  Paris  is  the  world'i 
repertory  of  gilded  shams  ! " 

He  tied  a  double  knot  in  his  handkerchief. 


TBS  END. 


1877. 


1877. 


NEW   BOOKS 

AND    NEW    EDITIONS, 

RECENTLY   ISSUED   BY 

G.  W,  CARLETON  &  Co.,  Publishers, 

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Alone 

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Miriam 

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Helen  Gardner. 
True  as   Steel.. 


Marion    Harland       Works. 


.(New) 


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rcial  Traveler 


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Two  Cities, 
in  15  vols. —  [elegant  half  calf  bindings^.  60 
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2  G.   W.  CARLETON  S>  CO?S  PUBLICATIONS. 

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Frank  Warrington i  50  i  St.   Philip's 150 


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Richard  Vandermarck 150 


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A  Perfect  Adonis.     (New) i  50 


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A  Terrible  Secret i  75 


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A  Mad  Marriage i  7; 


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A  New  Book |  Kate  Danton.     (New) i  75 

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The  Two  Barbaras.— A  noveL  . .  -$i  50  |  Bosom  Foes.    (In  press) ,..$i  50 

Julie    P.    Smith's    Novels. 

Widow  Goldsmith's  Daughter.. $i  75  I  The   Widower ,.$i  75 

Chris  and  Otho i  75    The  Married   Belle 175 

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His  Young  Wife.    (New) i  75) 

Captain    Mayne    Reid— Illustrated. 

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True  to  the  Last $x  50 

The  Star  and  the  Cloud i  50 

How  Could  He  Help  It? i  50 


A.   S.   Roe's   Select    Stories. 


A  Long   Look  Ahead $i  50 

I've  Been  Thinking —    i  50 

To  Love  and  to  be  Loved i  50 


Charles    Dickens. 

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Art  of  Conversation. — For  those  who  wish  to  be  agreeable  talkers  or  listeners....    x  50 

Arts  of  Writing,  Reading,  and  Speaking. — For  self-improvement i  50 

New  Diamond  Edition. — Small  size,  elegantly  bound,  3  volumes  in  a  box 3  oo 

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Don  Quixote. — New  i2mo  edition,  with  illustrations  by  GUSTAVE  DORE i  50 

Victor    Hugo. 

Les  Miserables. — An  English  translation  from  the  original  French.     Octavo $z  50 

Les  Miserables. — In  the  Spanish  Language.     Two  volumes,  cloth  bound 5*° 

Popular   Italian    Novels. 

Doctor  Antonio. — A  love  story  of  Italy.     By  Ruffini  $i  75 

Beatrice  Cenci. — By  Guerrazzi.     With  a  steel  engraving  from  Guide's  Picture....    I  75 

M.  Michelet's    Remarhable   Works. 

Love  (L'amour). — English  translation  from  the  original  French ft  50 

Woman  (La  Femme). — Do Do Do i  50 

Joaquin    Miller. 

The  One  Fair  Woman. — A  new  novel,  the  scene  laid  chiefly  in  Italy fa  oo 

Joseph   Rodman  Drake. 

The  Culprit  Fay. — The  well-known  fairy  poem,  with  100  illustrations f  2  oo 

Artemns   Ward's   Comic    Works. 

A  New  Stereotype  Edition. — Embracing  the  whole  of  his  writings,  with  a  Bio 
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G.    W.   CARLETON  &    CO.'S  PUBLICATIONS.  3 

Josh    Billings. 

His  Complete  Writings — with  Biography,  steel  portrait,  and  ico  illustrations.  $2  oo 

"New    York    Weekly"    Series. 

Thrown  on  the  World $i  50 


Peerless  Cathleen $i  50 

Faithful  Margaret.     (In  press.)...    i  50 


A  New  Novel.     (In  press.) i  50 


Win.   P.    Talboys. 

West  India  Pickles. — Journal  of  a  Winter  Yacht  Cruise,  with  illustrations $i   f> 

Frank    Lee    Benedict's    Novels. 

'Twixt  Hammer  and  Anvil $i  75  |  Madame $i  75 

Violet    Fane's    Poems. 

Constance's  Fate  ;  or  Denzil  Place. §i  50  |  From  Dawn  to  Noon.   (In  press.). $i  50 
P.   T.   Baruum. 

Lion  Jack.     For  young  folks §i  50  |  Jack  in  the  Jungle.  ..(In  press.),  fi  50 

M.    M.   Pomeroy    ("  Brick.") 


Sense — (a  serious  book) $i  50 

Gold-Dust        Do 150 

Our  Saturday   Nights i  50 


Nonsense — (a  comic  book) $i  50 

Brick-Dust  Do i  50 

Home  Harmonies.     (New) i  50 


Celia   E.    Gardner's    Novels. 


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Broken  Dreams.     Do         i  50 

A  New  Novel.     (In  press) 


Tested (In  prose). $i  75 


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Lives  of  the  Apostles i  75 


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Verdant    Green. 

A  Racy  English  College  Story — with  numerous  original  comic  illustrations $i  50 

Algernon    Charles   Swinburne. 

Laus  Veneris,  and  Other  Poems. — An  elegant  new  edition,  on  tinted  paper. ..  $i  50 
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The  Debatable  Land  Between  this  World  and  the  Next $2  oo 

Threading  My  Way. — Twenty-five  years  of  Autobiography i  50 

The    Gam-e    of    Whist. 

Pole  on  Whist. — The  late  English  standard  work.     New  enlarged  edition $i  oo 

Mother    Goose    Set    to    Music- 
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C.   H.    Webb    (John    Paul). 

Parodies  and  Poems §i  50  |  My  Vacation.— Sea  and  Shore $  i  50 

Livingston   .Hopkins. 

Comic  History  of  the  United  States.— Illustrated  by  the  Author $i  50 

Allan    Piiikertoai. 


Model  Town  and  Detectives.  ...fi  50 


Spiritualists  and  Detectives 


A  new  book,  in  press  i  50 

Louisa    M     Alcott. 

Morning  Glories. — A  beautiful  child's  book,  by  the  author  of  "Little  Women.'1. $r  50 

Geo.   A.    Crofutt. 
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4  G.    W  .CARLE TON  &  CO.'S   PUBLICATIONS. 

Miscellaneous    Works. 

Offenbach  in  America. — Translated  from  the  Paris  edition 

The  Annals  of  a  Baby. — A  companion  to  "  Helen's  Babies  " 

Betsy  and  1  are  Out. — And  other  Poems,  by  N.  S.  Emerson 

A  Woman  in  the  Case. — A  novel  by  Miss  Bessie  Turner.     With  portrait , 

How  to  Make  Money  ;  and  How  to  Keep  It. —  By  Thomas  A.  Davies 

Our  Children. — Teaching  Parent's  how  to  keep  them  in  Health.     Dr.  Gardner., 

Watchman;   What  of  the  Ni^ht. — By  Dr.  Jotin  Cum  i  ing,  of  London 

St.  Juda's  Assistant. — A  new  satirical  novel  of  City  Clerical  Life 

Johnny  Ludlow.— -A  collection  of  entertaining  English  Stories 


i  SO 


rsew  Nonsense  Knyines  — r>y  w.  M.  iieckett,  „ .._, „. 

Wood's  Guide  to  the  City  of  New  York. — Beautifully  illustrated 

The  Art  of  Amusing. — A  book  of  home  amusements,  with  illustrations 

A  Book  About  Lawyers. — A  curious  and  interesting  volume.     By  Jeaffreson... 

A  Book  About  Doctors.  Do.  Do.  Do 

The  Birth  and  Triumph  of  Love. — Full  of  exquisite  tinted  illustrations 

Progressive  Petticoats. — A  satrical  tale  by  Robert  B.  Roosevelt 

Ecce  Femina:  or,  the  Woman  Zoe. — Cuyler  Prime,  author  ''Mary  Brandegee," 
Souvenirs  of  Travel. — By  Madame  Octavia  Walton  Le  Vert,  si  Mobile.  Ala. .  .. 

Woman,  Love  and  Marriage. — A  spicy  little  work  by  Fred  Saunders 

Shiftless  Folks.— A  new  novel  by  Fannie  -Smith,  "  Widow  Goldsmith's  Daughter," 

A  Woman  in  Armor. — A  powerful  new  novel  by  Mary  Hart-well 

The  Fall  of  Man. — A  Darwinian  satire.  Author  of  "  New  Gospel  of  Peace  ;'.. .  . 
The  Chronicles  of  Gotham. — A  modern  satire.     Do.  Do. 

Phemie  Frost's  Experiences. — By  Mrs.  Ann  S.  Stephens 

Ballad  of  Lord  Bateman.— With  illustrations  by  Cruikshank,  (paper) 

The   Yachtman's   Primer. — For  amateur  sailors.     T.  R.  Warren,  (p-.per) 

Rural  Architecture. — By  M.  Field.     With  plans  and  illustrations 

Transformation  Scenes  in  the  United  States. — By  Hiram  Fuller 

Marguerite's  Journal.  —  Story  for  girls.     Introduction  by  author  "  Rutledge  ".. 
Kingsbury  Sketches. — Pine  Grove  Doings,  by  John  H.  Kiugsbury.    Illustrated. 

Miscellaneous    Novels. 

Led  Astray. — By  Octave  F'rutllet. .  §i  75 
She  Loved  Him  Madly.  —  Borys.   i  75 


i  5° 


. 

Through  Thick  and  Thin.— Mery  i  75 

So  Fair  Yet    False. — Chavette . . . .   i  75 

A  Fatal  Passion. — C.  Bernard....    i  75 

Manfred. — F.  D.  Guerazzi i  75 


Seen  and  Unseen i   5. 

Purple  and  Fine  Linen. — Fawcett  i  75 
Pauline's  Trial.  —  [,.  L.D.Courtney  i  50 
A  Charming  Widow. — Macquoul.  i  75 
True  to  Him  Ever.  —By  F.  W.  K.  i  50 
The  Forgiving  Kiss. — liy  M.  Loth,  i  75 

Loyal  Unto  Death i  75 

Kenneth,  My  King.— S.  A.  Brock,  i  75 
Heart  Hungry.-M. J.Westmoreland  i  75 
Clifford  Troupe.  Do.  i  7, 

Silcott  Mill.— Maria  D.  Deslonde  .    i   75 

John  Maribel.  Do.          i  75 

Ebon  and  Gold.— C.  I,.  Mcllvain..  i  50 
Passing  the  Portal.  — Mrs.  Victor,  i  50 
Out  of  the  Cage  — G.  W  Owen...  i  50 
Saint  Leger. — Richard  B.  KimbalL  i  75 
Was  He  Successful  ?  Do.  i  75 

Undercurrent:,  of  Wall  St.  Do.  i  75^ 
Romance  of  Student  Life.  Do.  i  75* 


To-Day.— Richard  B.  Kimball $i 

Life  in  San  Domingo.         Do i 

Henry  Powers,  Banker.  Do i 

Bessie   Wilmerton. — Wcsicott..    .  i 

Cachet.— Mrs.  M.  J.  R.  Hamilton  i 

Romance  of  Railroad.— Smith. ...  i 

C'narette. — An  American  novel i 

Fairfax. — John  Esten  Co;>ke i 

Hilt  to  Hilt.                      Do i 

Out  of  the  Foam  Do. 


Hammer  and  Rapier     D 

Warwick.— By  M.  T.  Walwortl 

Lulu  Do. 

Hotspur.  Do. 

S;ormc:iff.  I  >o.  ....    i  75 

Deiaplaine.  Do.  ....   i  75 

Beverly.  Do.  i  75 

Beldazzle's  Bachelor  Studies i  oo 

Antidote  to  Gates  Ajar 25 

The  Snoblace    Ball 25 

Northern  Ballads — An  !«.TSO;I i  oo 

O.  C    Kerr  Papers  — 4  vo!s.  in   i..   2  oo 

Victor  Hugo. --Hi',  life 2  oo 

Sandwiches.— Arte:nus  Ward 25 

Widow  Sprijrgins.—  Widow  BeJotl  i  75 


CHARLES  DICKENS'  WORKS. 


A  New  Edition. 

Among  the  many  editions  of  the  works  of  this  greatest  of 
English  Novelists,  there  has  not  been  until  now  one  that  entirely 
satisfies  the  public  demand. — Without  exception,  they  each  have 
tome  strong  distinctive  objection, — either  the  form  and  dimensions 
of  the  volumes  are  unhandy — or,  the  type  is  small  and  indistinct — 
or,  the  illustrations  are  unsatisfactory — or,  the  binding  is  poor — or, 
the  price  ts  too  high. 

An  entirely  new  edition  is  now,  however,  published  by  G.  W. 
Carleton  &  Co.  of  New  York,  which,  it  is  believed,  will,  in  every 
respect,  completely  satisfy  the  popular  demand. — It  Is  known  as 

"Carletoii's  New  Illustrated  Edition." 

COMPLETE  IN  15  VOLUMES. 

The  size  and  form  is  most  convenient  for  holding, — the  type  is 
entirely  new,  and  of  a  cleai  and  open  character  that  has  received  the 
approval  of  the  reading  community  in  other  popular  works. 

The  illustrations  are  by  the  original  artists  chosen  ly  Charles 
Dickens  himself — and  the  paper,  printing,  and  binding  are  of  an 
attractive  and  substantial  character. 

This  beautiful  new  edition  is  complete  in  15  volumes — at  the 
extremely  reasonable  price  of  $1.50  per  volume,  as  follows : — 

I. — PICKWICK  PAPERS  AND  CATALOGUE. 

2. — OLIVER  TWIST.— UNCOMMERCIAL  TRAVELLER. 

3. — DAVID  COPPERFIELD. 

4. — GREAT  EXPECTATIONS. — ITALY  AND  AMERICA. 

5. — DOMBEY  AND  SON. 

6. — BARNABY  RUDGE  AND  EDWIN  DROOD. 

7. — NICHOLAS  NICKLEBY. 

8. — CURIOSITY  SHOP  AND  MISCELLANEOUS. 

9. — BLEAK  HOUSE. 
IO. — LITTLE  DORRIT. 
II. — MARTIN  CHUZZLEWIT. 
12. — OUR  MUTUAL  FRIEND. 
13.- -CHRISTMAS  BOOKS. — TALE  OF  TWO  CITI3S. 

4.    SKETCHES  BY  iyOZ  AND  HARD  TIMES. 
15. — CHILD'S  ENGLAND  AND  MISCELLANEOUS. 

The  first  volume  —Pickwick  Papers — contains  an  afphnbeticaJ 
catalogue  of  all  of  Charles  Dickens'  w  -kings,  with  their  pesitioa* 
in  the  volumes. 

Thu  edition  is  sold  by  Booksellers,  everywhere — and  single  speci 
men  copies  will  be  forwarded  by  mail,  postage  free,  on  receipt  of 
price,  $1.50,  by 

3,  W,  CARLETON  &  CO.,  Publishers, 

Madison  Square,  New  York. 


MARY  J.  HOLMES'  WORKS. 


fc -TEMPEST  AND 

fc- -ENGLISH  ORPHANS, 
j.— HOMESTEAD  ON  HILLSIDE. 
4.— 'LENA  RIVERS. 
%.  -MEADOW  BROOK. 
i.  -DORA  L-EANE. 
y    -COUSIN  MAUDE. 
16.— WEST  LAW1\ 


8.— MARIAN  GRAY. 
9.— DARKNESS  AND  DAYLIGHT, 
io.— HUGH   WOR1HINOTON. 

ii.— CAMERON  PRIDE. 
12.— ROSE  MATHER. 
13.—  ETHELYN'S   MISTAKE. 
14.— MILLBANK. 
^,15.— EDNA   BROWNING. 
17.— EDITH  LYLE. 


OPINIONS    OF   THE    PRESS. 

"Mrs.  Holmes'  stories  are  universally  read.  Her  admirers  are  numberless. 
She  is  in  many  respects  without  a  rival  in  the  world  of  fiction.  Her  characters 
are  always  iife-like,  and  she  makes  them  talk  and  act  like  human  beings,  subject 
to  the  same  emotions,  swayed  by  the  same  passions,  and  actuated  by  the  same 
motives  which  are  common  among  men  and  women  of  every  day  existence.  Mrs. 
fiolmes  is  very  happy  it  portraying  domestic  life.  Old  and  young  peruse  het 
etories  with  great  del'ght,  for  she  writes  in  a  style  that  all  can  comprehend." — 
New  Y»rk  Wetkly. 

•'Mrs.  Holmes'  stories  are  all  of  a  domestic  character,  and  their  interest, 
therefore,  is  not  so  intense  as  if  they  were  more  highly  seasoned  with  sensational 
ism,  but  it  is  of  a  healthy  and  abiding  character.  Almost  any  new  book  which  her 
publisher  might  choose  to  announce  from  her  pen  would  get  an  immediate  and 
general  reading.  The  interest  in  her  tales  begins  at  once,  and  is  maintained  to 
the  close.  Her  sentiments  are  so  sound,  her  sympathies  so  warm  and  ready, 
and  her  knowledge  of  manners,  character,  and  the  varied  incidents  of  ordinary 
lift  is  so  thorough,  that  she  would  find  it  difficult  to  write  any  other  than  an 
excellent  tale  if  she  were  to  try  it." — Boston  Banner. 

"  Mrs.  Holmes  if  very  amusing ;  has  a  quick  and  true  sense  of  humor,  ?. 
sympathetic  tone,  a  perception  of  character,  and  a  familiar,  attractive  style, 
pleasantly  adapted  to  the  comprehension  and  the  taste  of  that  large  class  erf 
American  readers  for  whom  fashionable  novels  and  ideal  fantasies  have  uo 
skarnx "—  Henry  T.  Tuckerman. 


Fh*   volunes    are   all   handsomely  printed   and   Bound   in   cloth,  — tciU 
and  sent  by  mail,  postage  free,  on  receipt  of  price  L!|I.SO  each],  bj 

Q.  W.  CARLETON  &  CO.,   Publishers, 

Madison  Square,  New  York 


THREE    VALUABLE    BOOKS. 


OF    SOCIETY. 


I. — The  Art  of  Conversation, 

With  Directions  for  Self-Culture.  An  admirably  conceived  and  entertaining  work — sen 
sible,  instructive,  and  full  of  suggestions  valuable  to  every  one  who  desires  to  be  cither  a 
flood  talker  or  listener,  or  who  wishes  to  appoar  to  advantage  in  good  society.  Evecy  young 
and  even  old  person  should  read  it,  study  i*;  over  and  over  again,  and  follow  those  hints  in 
it  which  !uad  them  to  break  np  bad  habits  and  cultivp.te  good  ones.  *$*  Price,  $1.50. 
Among  the  contents  will  be  found  chapters  upon — 

ATTENTION  IN  CONVERSATION.— SATIRE. —  SELFISHNESS. — ABGUMENT. — SACRIFICES.  - 
PUNS. — SARCASM. — TEASING. — CENSURE. —  SILENT  PEOPLE. — DINNER  CONVERSATION. 
FAULT-FINDING. — EGOTISM. — POLITENESS.  — TIMIDITY  AND  ITS  CURE.— MODESTY. — 
— COMPLIMENTS. — STORIES. —  ANECDOTES.  CORRECT  LANGUAGE. — SELF-INSTRUCTION. 
— QUESTIONING.— LIBERTIES.— IMPUDENCE.  — MISCELLANEOUS  KNOWLEDGE. — LAN 
—STAKING. — DISAGREEABLE  SUBJECTS.—  GUAGES.— GENERAL  HINTS  TO  ALL. 


II.— The  Habits  of  Good  Society. 

A  Hand-book  for  Ladies  and  Gentlemen.  With  thoughts,  hints,  and  anecdotes  concern 
ing  social  observances,  nice  points  of  taste  and  good  manners,  and  the  art  of  making  one- 
gelf  agreeable.  The  whole  interspersed  with  humorous  illustrations  of  social  predica- 
knents,  remarks  on  fashion,  etc.  *#*  Price,  §1.50.  Among  the  contents  will  be  found 
chapters  upon — 

GENTLEMEN'S  PREFACE. 

LADIES'  PREFACE.— FASHIONS. 

THOUGHTS  ON  SOCIETY. 

GOOD  SOCIETY. — BAD  SOCIETY. 

THE  DRESSING  ROOM. 

THE  LADIES'  TOILET. — DRESS. 

FEMININE  ACCOMPLISHMENTS." 

MANNERS  AND  HABITS. 

PUBLIC  AND  PRIVATE  ETIQUETTE. 


MARRIED  AND  UNMARRIED  LADIES. 

Do  Do     GENTLEMEN. 

CALLING  ETIQUETTE. — CARDS. 
VISITING  ETIQUETTE. — DINNERS. 


LADIES  AT  DINNER. 
DINNER  HABITS. — CARVING 
MANNERS  AT  SUPPER. — BALLS. 
MORNING  PARTIES. — PICNICS. 
EVENING  PARTIES. — DANCES. 
PRIVATE  THEATRICALS. 
RECEPTIONS. — ENGAGEMENTS. 
MARRIAGE  CEREMONIES. 
INVITATIONS. — DRESSES. 
BRIDESMAIDS. — PRESENTS. 
TRAVELING  ETIQUETTE. 
PUBLIC  PROMENADE. 
COUNTRY  VISITS. — CITY  VISITS. 


III.— Arts  of  Writing,  Reading,  and  Speaking. 

A  fascinating  work  for  teaching  and  perfecting  every  one  in  those  three  most  desirable 
accomplishments.  Fo/  youth  this  book  is  both  interesting  and  valuable;  and  for  adults, 
whet'ier  professionally  or  socially,  it  is  a  book  that  they  cannot  dispense  with.  Price, 
$1.50  Among  the  contents  will  be  found  chapters  upon — 

RF.ADINCJ  AND  THINKING. — LANGUAGE. —  WHAT  NOT  TO  SAY. — How  TO  BEGIN. — 
WORDS,  SENTENCES,  AND  CONSTRUCTION.-  CAUTIONS. -DELIVERY. -WRITING  A  SPEECH. 
WHAT  TO  AVOID. — LETTER  WRITING. —  — FIRST  LESSONS. — PUBLIC  SPEAKING. -DE 
PRONUNCIATION. —  EXPRESSION. — TONE. —  LIVERY. — ACTION.' — ORATORY  OF  THE  PUL 


PIT.— COMPOSITION.— THE  BAR.-READINU 
OT  WIT  AND  HUMOR. — THE  PLATFORM. — 
CONSTRUCTION  OF  A  SPEECH. 


RELIGIOUS  READINGS.— THE  BIBLE.— 
PRAYKRS. — DRAMATIC  READINGS. — ORA- 
TOI.Y  AND  SPEAKING. — WHAT  TO  SAY. — 

7!>.ese  icorks  are  the  moat  perfect  ofthetr  kind  ever  pnblinfied;  fresh,  sensible,  good- 
humored,  entertaining,  and  readable.  Eotry  person  of  tante  should  possess  t/ter.-i,  dtid 
cannot  be  otherwise  than  dellglited  with  them. 

jSgr*  A  beautiful  new  minature  edition  of  these  very  popular  books  has  just  been  pub 
lished,  entitled  "  THE  DIAMOND  EDITION,"  three  little  volumes,  elegantly  printed  on 
tintei  paper,  and  handsomely  bound  in  a  box.  Price,  §3.00. 

%*  These  books  ar«  beautifully  printed,  bound  and  sent  by  mail,  postage  frea,  on 
receipt  of  price. 

Gr   W.  CARLETON  &  CO.,  Publishers,  New  York. 


DATE  DUE 


GAYLORD 


MTED  IN  U.S.A. 


000549528 


